It was another nervous day for London's equity market yesterday as the possibility of three interest rate rises next week - in the US, Britain and Europe - continued to deter all but the most optimistic investors.

There was no real surprise at the reluctance of most fund managers to take a chance in markets as the third quarter drew to a close and the fourth quarter, which is expected to see a slowdown in activity because of caution about the millennium bug, starts.

A turbulent session in London did see the emergence of some keen support for the leaders, which resulted in the FTSE 100 recapturing positive ground and the 6,000 level it has lost on several occasions in recent weeks. After a day-long scrap, the index responded to a much-needed positive opening by Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average made good progress after encouraging economic data. Footsie closed 9.2 ahead at 6,029.8, having given another erratic display for much of the day.