The London market emerged from a turbulent session on a positive note, having had to cope with a slightly disappointing inflation report for June which showed both the headline and core RPI data higher than consensus forecasts.
The plus points for the leading stocks, and much of the rest of the market, came from strong performances from the two oil heavy weights, BP Amoco and Shell, after the former delivered an impressive strategy presentation to institutions and analysts in London.
There were other powerful individual performances helping drive the FTSE 100 higher, but the most influential of all was the positive interpretation by US stock markets of the speech made by Mr Alan Greenspan, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, to the US National Governors' Association in Pennsylvania.
According to dealers it wasn't what Mr Greenspan had said, rather what he didn't say that counted. The Fed chairman told the NGA that there were no signs of the productivity surge faltering in the US.
After a nervous opening few minutes the Dow charged ahead posting a 130-points gain as London closed for the day. Although left trailing in the Dow's wake, the Nasdaq composite was an encouraging 32 points higher.
The FTSE 100 closed well off its best - it hit 6,510.1 as the Dow was galloping ahead - but still managed a 9.6 gain at 6,475.8 at the close. At its worst of the day, during the first hour of trading, the index was down 15.7 at 6,450.5.
The FTSE 250 index also made good progress, climbing 15.1 to 6,652.8 - its best of the day - but the FTSE SmallCap and the Techmark 100 were both modestly lower over the session.
The Techmark settled 10.26 lower at 3,394.49, while the SmallCap dipped 5.7 to 3,374.9.
In its UK portfolio quarterly, the strategy team at Schroder Salomon Smith Barney maintained its mid-2001 FTSE 100 forecast of 7,600.
But it warned: "Our natural bullishness is constrained by our economists' suspicions that current interest rate optimism is overdone. While further rate rises will be a drag on bonds and equities in the shorter term, we suspect that 2001 will be a rate-cutting year.
