The London market yesterday seized the opportunity to throw off its "seven-day itch" after investors decided the combination of its recent decline, favourable company results, the announcement of several corporate deals and a reinvigorated Wall Street provided a buying opportunity that was too good to miss. Not since September 6th, 1994, had the FTSE 100 suffered a retreat for seven consecutive sessions and dealers indicated even the long term bears had run out of steam in terms of pulling the market lower.

Having hit a high of 6,281, profit-taking did see the index surrender some of the early gains. The Footsie ended at 6,262, up 93.7. Closing volume was 1.08 billion. Although the SmallCap index managed to end the day on a firm note, there was no such joy for the FTSE 250. It closed at 5,959, down 3.6.