The leading UK stocks scrambled back on track yesterday, recovering from a nervous opening performance and just managing to finish the day on the uptick after a last-minute tussle between bulls and bears.

The bulls emerged in front thanks mainly to Wall Street's better showing yesterday when the Dow Jones Industrial Average ran up over 30 points.

After slipping back during the previous two sessions, as the market reacted to a weak showing by gilts and persistent small profit-taking, the FTSE 100 closed a net 5.3 firmer on the day at 6,562.6, extending the gain on the week to 70.7, or 1.1 per cent. That rise was the poorest of the FTSE indices over the week.

The FTSE 250 registered new intraday and closing records for the fifth straight session, eventually finishing 5.1 up at 6,078.3. Over the week the 250 showed a gain of 2.4 per cent, easily the best of the FTSE series of indices.