London shares higher midday on late Wall Street bounce

Leading shares remained firmer but off intraday highs in thin midday trading, tentatively clawing back some of yesterday's massive losses, although investors continued to tread warily in the wake of the apparent $4 bn (€4.06bn) fraud at WorldCom, dealers said.

At 11.55 am, the FTSE 100 index was 16.5 points higher at 4,547.5, but well below an early peak of 4,589.6, with the blue-chip index still taking its lead from the partial late recovery on Wall Street overnight.