Market awaits US rates decision

After last night's 200 point fall the FTSE-100 index has recovered most of its losses, gaining 160 points.

It now stands 5850.5 as the City waits to see how much Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan will cut the cost of borrowing in the US.

A feeling that Mr Greenspan may cut US interest rates by a further 50 basis points will boost confidence.

In London, two of the market's biggest stocks are among those making headway, with BP up 5%, or 28p to 615½p and Vodafone rising 6p to 196p.

A host of tech and telecom stocks are also heading upwards, led by Dimension Data which shrugged off fears of the US slowdown to post higher than expected interim numbers.

Its shares have risen 28¾p to 320p, while other risers include Telewest Communications, up 7½p to 120p, Marconi, up 19½p to 370p and Energis, ahead 14p at 285p.

Old economy stocks are sharing in the positive sentiment, however, with BOC up 4%, or 42p, to £10.44 and AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline rising 119p and 73p to £32.68 and £19.46 respectively.

Only six stocks among the FTSE-100 were falling, led Boots, which has tumbled 4%, or 28p to 588½p.

The fall came amid fears of a price war among over-the-counter medicines after the abolition of the drugs resale price mechanism - which supermarkets claimed allowed manufacturers of branded medicines and vitamins to set the price for their products.

Other fallers include supermarket chain Safeway, ahead of its annual results tomorrow, which has slipped 2p to 338p.d