London's equity market detached itself from Wall Street yesterday, reacting instantly and strongly to talk of a big sell programme late in the day that saw the FTSE 100 index swing violently to finish marginally lower.

Dealers were mostly perplexed by London's reaction to the day's events, which, apart from a soggy performance by Wall Street overnight and a weak showing by Asian bourses, provided no real worries for markets. The FTSE 100 index reflected Wall Street's overnight jitters and the general unease in Europe ahead of the remarks made by Mr Alan Greenspan, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, to the Senate about prospects for the US economy. In the event, Mr Greenspan caused few problems for Wall Street, although he said he felt rampant Internet stocks were "sure to fail". Dealers and market-makers generally still saw the London market as vulnerable to setbacks, because of the potential problems in emerging markets, with their inevitable impact on British manufacturing industries.

The FTSE 100 index ended another volatile session 3.9 off at 5,872.5, having swung around in a 120-point arc.