An initially positive response by London's equity market to news that the US Federal Reserve had cut interest rates for the third time since the end of September, quickly gave way to profit-taking yesterday.
After a day of sizeable swings in both directions, the FTSE 100 index only just managed to clamber off the day's lows, finishing 28.7 down at 5,474.0, having posted a 35.6 fall only a minute before the official close.
Unlike the leaders, there was no real cushion for the mid and smallcaps, where both FTSE indices remained in negative territory all day.
The FTSE 250 index finished at a session low of 4782.2, down 26.9, while the FTSE SmallCap was 8.1 weaker at 2,052.8.
Some dealers were taken aback by London's early strength, given that Wall Street ended Tuesday's session with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 25 points and back below the 9,000 level.
Wall Street gave no real help to European markets at the opening yesterday, the Dow moving either side of the 9,000 level shortly after the opening.
Traders in London also pointed to an ever-lengthening list of companies announcing disappointing results, on top of profit warnings that continue to chip away at the market's confidence.
Those disappointments have tended to undermine the stock market's second liners and smallcap stocks, especially over the past two sessions, which have seen the FTSE 250 and SmallCap indices under constant downside pressure.
Turnover in equities reached 850 million shares by the p.m. count.
