London reacts to lacklustre Wall Street opening

London shares gave up the chance to make further progress today as market morale took a dive following a lacklustre opening on Wall Street.

The FTSE 100 Index gave up gains of 12 points mid-afternoon to slide back into negative territory, closing the session 5.3 points lower at 4456.1.

Investors reacted to the Dow Jones Industrial Average sliding more than 60 points with technology stocks under pressure after disappointing updates from Intel and Apple.

Analysts said there was little consensus on where the Footsie would move next, with most blue-chip retailers having informed the market of their Christmas trading performance.

Banks were the big winners in London today with news that US-based Bank One is to merge with JP Morgan, re-igniting investor interest in the financial sector.