Footsie staging comeback after slump

London shares are sparking ahead in early trading, staging a comeback from yesterday's massive losses as technology and telecoms stocks shoot ahead.

After an hour's trading, the Footsie index of 100 leading shares has risen by 94.2 points to 5409.

Yesterday's plunge saw the index suffer its worst percentage fall since October 1992, with billions of pounds wiped off the value of shares.

The Footsie closed its session yesterday down 225.9 points at 5314.8 as investors rushed to sell off shares in telecoms, techs and banks.

But Wall Street staged a late recovery last night, closing less than 100 points down after having fallen 380 at its lowest point, while the tech-dominated Nasdaq closed ahead by 67 points.

Far Eastern markets also helped sentiment, with both the Nikkei and the Hang Seng posting overnight gains.

In London, techs and telecoms are proving to be the movers and shakers.

Telewest Communications has jumped 12% ahead, rising 12¾p at 117p; Colt Telecom is up 62p at 800p; BT is up 18½p at 487½p; and Vodafone has sparked 6p to 199p.

Among the telecom equipment firms, Energis is up 23p to 293p; Marconi has risen by 27p to 372p; and Spirent has jumped 10p to 370p.

Tech risers include software group Dimension Data, up 23p at 300p; Misys, up 28½p at 505p; computer services group CMG, rising 28p at 635p; and chip designer ARM Holdings, up 20p at 315p.