Footsie ends stormy week with a whimper

The FTSE 100 Index ended a volatile week with a whimper yesterday as shares struggled for direction on both sides of the Atlantic.

By the close, the Footsie was up 18 points at 4227.3 after drifting in a narrow range for all of the session.

However, the blue-chip index is still more than 150 points lower than Monday's starting point after lingering concerns about the health of the global economy played on the minds of traders.

City watchers now believe the London market is only likely to kick back into life after next Monday's Labour Day holiday in the US.

There was little in the way of news flow to excite the market, although market heavyweight Vodafone did unveil a deal to take control of the Vizzavi internet and mobile phone portal it owns with French media giant Vivendi.

With analysts divided about the merits of the £90.7m asking price for the 50% stake, Vodafone shares slipped a penny to 103p.

Drugs stocks also struggled and GlaxoSmithKline fell 16p to £12.16 while AstraZeneca reversed 35p to £18.22.

But the top of the Footsie fallers board was reserved for hotel's group Hilton after its disappointing interim results. Shares followed last night's 3% fall with a 4% decline off 8p at 191p.

The biggest Footsie risers were Allied Domecq up 20p at 409p, ICI ahead 11p at 254p, Gallaher up 28p at 660p and Northern Rock ahead 27p at 722p.