London shares remain weak midmorning

Leading shares were weak in midmorning deals, undermined by last night's weak performance on the DJIA and a string of negative press reports and with nerves taut ahead of this afternoon's key US data, dealers said.

At 10.10 am, the FTSE 100 index was 58.0 points lower at 3,982.7, having dipped to 3,953.3, just prior to this morning's domestic data.

All the broader FTSE indices weaker as well.

Volume was very heavy, with 944.6 million shares changing hands in 29,399 transactions, boosted by two hefty trades in Vodafone of over 70 million shares each.

Overnight on Wall Street, the DJIA closed 30.38 points weaker at 8,397.03, while the Nasdaq composite ended 3.10 points firmer at 1,329.80.

Some positive domestic data helped lift London shares out of the doldrums this morning.

The UK Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply's manufacturing index unexpectedly rose to 50.5 in October from an upwardly revised 50.3 in the previous month, confounding analysts' forecasts for a dip to 49.8 and above the key 50 level that represents expansion.

But of more importance is this afternoon's data on the US job market and US manufacturing activity which will be scrutinized for clues on whether or by how much the Fed will cut rates at next week's FOMC meeting.

Economists expect total nonfarm payroll employment to have ticked up by 4,000 from September, while the unemployment rate is expected to rise to 5.8% in October from 5.6% in September, which had been its lowest point since January.