THE British stock market finally gave way yesterday, with seven straight upside performances halted by Wall Street's latest slide.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down around 40 points shortly after London closed for business yesterday and there were some concerns that the recent recovery in the US market was coming to an end.
All the indices ended down on the day. The FTSE 100 closed 18.8 lower at 4,369.7 while the FTSE Mid-250 fell 16.9 to 4,500.5 and the SmallCap 2.1 to 2,298.7.
And while the day's final turnover of 900.8 million shares was up on recent levels, many dealers and strategists were predicting nervous and volatile sessions in the run up to next Thursday's general election.
In essence, London was reacting slowly to events that had already taken place earlier in the week.
On Thursday, ICI had shocked the City with news that the enduring strength of sterling was even more debilitating to overseas trading than the most pessimistic analysts had predicted.
But, with ICI no longer seen as the barometer of British industry, and with Wall Street appearing comparatively buoyant, London hung on in positive territory - albeit by a very slight margin.
Then, yesterday morning, Yorkshire Group brought the sterling argument back into focus with a stark profits warning and Footsie lost heart.
In addition to the currency concerns, the market was also focusing on possible interest rate pressures.
