Shares edge up in thin trading

The FTSE-100 Index has surged ahead 51 points - though not many shares are changing hands.

The index now stands at 5639.4 as selective buying sees a mixture of old and new economy stocks heading northwards.

The rise is despite a late fall on the tech-dominated NASDAQ overnight in the US, but investors have been reassured by indications that markets on Wall Street will open higher this afternoon.

Two of the market's biggest stocks are among the pace-setters, with BP Amoco up 10p at 578p and GlaxoSmithKline ahead 56p at £18.49.

Another pharmaceutical company, the Anglo-Swedish group AstraZeneca, is also moving into positive territory, up by 119p at £33.63.

The group said it had submitted an application for its breast cancer treatment with the US Food & Drug Administration.

News group Reuters has risen 24p to 864p, while investment bank Schroders has jumped 45p at £10.63.

But Marks & Spencer is among the heaviest fallers after rising 7% yesterday on news of its restructuring plans. Now the stock has fallen 8p to 258½p after a muted reaction from City analysts.

Telecoms group Spirent has dropped 6%, or 20¼p to 342p.

With little corporate news, motor services group Lex Service has risen 5%, or 24p, at 482½p, after announcing a £112 million deal for windscreen replacement group Auto Windscreens.

Software group Autonomy, recently relegated to the FTSE-250 Index, is also ahead 10%, or 72p to 739p. The group is setting up a business in Singapore to drive sales in Asia.