The optimists' hopes of a decisive short-term upward move by the FTSE 100 were dashed from the outset yesterday as poor performances by three of the London market's most heavily weighted sectors - oils, banks and telecoms - erased any chances of an upward move by the benchmark index. Most dealers were perplexed by London's sluggish performance, which contrasted sharply with the market's healthy showing on Monday, when the 100 index looked set to challenge its all-time high.

The FTSE 100 was left with a 28.8 decline at 6,552.4, well above its session low of 6,513.1, down 68.1. The junior FTSE indices were never as roughly handled as the 100 index, the FTSE 250 settling only 22.3 off at 5,925.1, and the FTSE SmallCap gave an encouraging performance, finishing 4.2 up at 2,652.0.

Turnover in equities was a healthy 1.05 billion shares, with non-FTSE 100 stocks accounting for 54 per cent.