Positive day for FTSE

The London market made steady gains today as investors fled to safe-haven pharmaceutical stocks.

Gains in the heavily-weighted sector helped keep the FTSE 100 Index in positive territory after a poor start to the week for retailers and housebuilders.

The FTSE closed 20.8 points higher at 6356.5, although blue chips lost bigger advances made earlier when US markets slipped lower after a strong start.

Wall Street moved into the red after Treasury secretary Henry Paulson said authorities were considering an extension of the programme to freeze mortgage rates for homeowners at risk of defaulting on payments.

In London, medical devices firm Smith & Nephew led the Footsie leader board, up more than 7% or 43.5p to 640p. It was followed higher by drug giants GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca as traders turned to steadier sectors.

Glaxo rose 40p to 1361p and Astra stood 64p higher at 2234p by the close with Shire - up 29p at 492p - also joining the risers.

Strong metals prices meanwhile helped Lonmin move 117p higher to 3262p and Kazakhmys gain 44p to 1335p and buoy the benchmark index.

Housebuilders were suffering after Halifax's latest assessment of the property market showed a 0.8% drop in values during the final quarter of last year compared with the previous three-month period.

This was the first quarterly drop since the second quarter of 2000, overshadowing a 1.3% rise in prices during December.

Persimmon was the worst affected, down nearly 5%, or 33.5p at 651.5p, while Taylor Wimpey fell 8.7p to 171.1p, a 5% decline.

The leading Footsie faller was Yellow Pages publisher Yell Group, downgraded by brokers at UBS amid concerns over economic conditions putting long-term pressure on directories. Yell was off 6%, or 21.25, to 321.75p.

There was also little comfort for retail stocks after the British Retail Consortium revealed the sector endured its worst Christmas in three years.

With much of the downside already priced in over recent days, shares were largely back in positive territory by the close, however.

Marks & Spencer gained 5p to 503.5p despite low expectations for festive sales figures tomorrow, while fashion retailer Next, which has suffered in the past week amid a gloomy outlook, rose 11p to 1407p.

Among smaller stocks, Domino's Pizza was up 3p to 178p after delivering a 17.6% festive surge in sales. And a post-Christmas trading revival for Bay Trading owner Alexon, who said profits would not be as bad as first feared, saw shares in the group rise more than 10% or 7.25p to 77.5p.

However, FTSE 250 airline easyJet endured hefty falls after its December passenger statistics revealed a 2.2% drop in its "load factor" - the measure indicating how well carriers are filling their planes. Shares fell nearly 14%, or 74.25p, to 460.25p.

The biggest Footsie risers were Smith & Nephew up 43.5p at 640p, BT ahead 13.75p at 277.75p, Lonmin up 117p at 3262p and Kazakhmys up 44p at 1335p.

The biggest Footsie fallers were Yell down 21.25p at 321.75p, Persimmon off 33.5p at 651.5p, Taylor Wimpey down 8.7p at 171.1p and First Group down 31p at 701p.