THE London market suffered another bloodbath yesterday, plunging more than 4% to reach fresh five-year lows as investors suffered a deepening crisis of confidence.

The London market slumped to its lowest close for more than five years today as another plunge on Wall Street send shudders through investors.

The FTSE 100 Index is up 85.9 at 4626.5 after an hour's trading.

The Footsie 100 Index has closed up 9.6 at 4540.6

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.

The FTSE 100 Index has lost 79.8 points to close at a fresh eight-month low of 4771.9.

The FTSE 100 Index is down 2.7 at 4849 at mid-morning.

Modest gains on Wall Street helped the London market edge ahead and end the week on an upbeat note.

The FTSE 100 Index is off 28.4 points at 5787.7 despite a 57 point gain on the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the US overnight.

Friends Provident is expected to update investors on the impact of an impending shake-up in the financial services industry when it reveals its maiden full-year results next Wednesday.

The FTSE 100 Index is up 17.3 at 5118.3 after an hour's trading.

The London market has continued its pre-Christmas rally as traders shrug off a grim update from Pearson.

The FTSE 100 Index has lifted 20.2 points to 5156.5 after a healthy finish on Wall Street last night.

London shares have continued climbing, boosted by a strong performance from the US markets.

The FTSE 100 Index has fallen another 81.0 points to close at 5086.6.

London shares are struggling as traders search in vain for positive economic news.

The Footsie index of 100 leading stocks is down 51.6 points by mid-morning at 4984.4, although this marks something of a rebound from an earlier 133-point slump.

Shares in London are edging downwards, with the FTSE-100 index of top shares losing 14.9 points in early trading.

Trouble in the tech and telecoms sectors continue to cut away at the FTSE-100 Index, which has so far dropped 86.1 points.

Tech and telecom stocks were under pressure today as the FTSE-100 Index continued to fall away from the 6,000 barrier.

UK blue chips stayed weak around midday but held off their early morning lows, supported by hopes of a recovery on Wall Street today following a savaging over the past few sessions, although much will depend on February U.S. retail sales data due at 1.30 pm, dealers said.

The Footsie index of 100 leading stocks is up 22.8 points at lunchtime after the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee's decided to keep the cost of borrowing at 5.75%.

CGNU is counting the cost of last autumn's torrential rain, which is expected to hit its pre-tax profits.