Rollercoaster session ends with stocks slightly ahead

LONDON shares had a volatile session yesterday, but managed to close ahead as retail stocks made gains.

By the close of trading the FTSE 100 Index was up 6.2 points at 3841.4 after a rollercoaster session which saw it rise 72 points in early dealing only to slide lower during the afternoon.

A subdued start in the US also affected the mood Wall Street initially opened ahead but then slid lower. By the time London closed US indices had tracked back to trade around their opening marks.