It was something of a struggle for much of the session but London's equity market emerged in positive territory yesterday despite the worrying weekend news about Microsoft. That news, which posed a very real threat to the US software company after a judge ruled the company "monopolist", was seen as a serious threat to investor sentiment.

In the event, however, markets took an initial steep decline in Microsoft shares relatively calmly.

London never really felt too comfortable and owed a debt of gratitude to BP Amoco, which alone accounted for the rise in the FTSE 100, as the stock market gave a positive response to news of its proposed sale of Alaskan assets.

Investors were also encouraged by the prospect of more takeover action in global pharmaceutical stocks after last week's move by Pfizer to trump American Home Products' bid for Warner Lambert.