Early rally fizzles to leave market negative at close

LONDON shares ended a rollercoaster session in negative territory yesterday after a knee-jerk rally fizzled out.

The FTSE 100 surged more than 100 points in early trading as fears of war with Iraq receded following Saddam Hussein’s decision on UN inspectors. Heavyweights such as insurers, banks and telecoms had helped buoy the market. But by close of trade the Footsie had lost all its gains to end down 19.2 points at 4025.1.

Of the banks, Lloyds TSB reversed an early gain to fall 6p to 521p, while Abbey National slipped 6p to 651p.