Rally helps Footsie fight off negative sentiment

A strong rally by a clutch of blue-chip stocks is helping the London markets to fight yet more negative sentiment from the US.

By mid-morning, the Footsie index of 100 leading stocks is down 13 points, having tumbled by 108.8 points in the first hour of trading, and now stands at 5450.1.

The market is being helped by a big push from insurance group Prudential and other market heavyweights such as Vodafone, while bargain hunters are helping to promote long-suffering tech stocks on to the Footsie risers' board.

Heavy fallers on the London Stock Exchange include Colt Telecom, dropping 32p to 643p; Telewest Communications, down 2¾p to 99¼p; and computer services group Logica, off 26p at 824p.

Chemicals giant ICI is also down, falling 23½p to 635p. Analysts say the drop is due to concerns about tough trading conditions.

But there are no such worries for insurance group Prudential, which has sparked the rally by jumping over 9% or 71p to 815p.

The rise in the Pru's share price comes amid doubts over the future of its planned takeover of US financial services company American General following a counter-bid from US insurance giant AIG.

Prudential's rise is enough to place it top of the Footsie risers' board, ahead of computer group Sage, which is up 6% or 15½p to 236¼p after falling by 8% in the first hour.

Other risers include BT, up 24p to 503p; Marconi, up 14p to 314p; and Vodafone, ahead 4½p at 190p.