No bloodbath on FTSE

The London market avoided another bloodbath today after the FTSE 100 Index completed the first hour of trading less than 40 points lower.

The drop of 0.8% – or 36.9 to 4781.9 – was much better than initial City forecasts for a slide of 200 points or more. However, the market remained on edge after last night’s shock rejection of the $700bn (€487bn) bank bail-out.