markets

Falls by Friends Provident, Cadburys Schweppes and Antofagasta forced the FTSE lower for the fourth day running.

New Star Asset Management Group says that trading has been ‘buoyant' in the first half of 2007, despite unsettled equity and bond markets.

The FTSE 100 has ended the day unchanged at 6,505.1 points, as early losses were offset by a good start on Wall Street.

The FTSE 100 has ended the day down 17.6 points, or 0.27%, to 6,505.1, as the hold on interest rates has been overshadowed by the opening fall on Wall Street.

The FTSE 100 has ended the session down 31.3 points, or 0.47%, to 6,632.8, as a poor start to Wall Street and interest rate fears wiped out early gains.

The FTSE 100 has ended the day down 12.6 points, or 0.19%, to 6,664.1, as property companies brought the index lower.

The FTSE 100 has ended the day up 55.3 points, or 0.84%, to 6,676.7, as a strong start on Wall Street boosted gains by miners.

The FTSE 100 has ended the day up 19.3 points, or 0.29%, to 6,621.4, as miners helped boost the index on increased metal prices and talk of consolidation in the sector.

The best performance from Vodafone for five years has pushed the FTSE 100 back past the 6,600 mark to end the session up 36 points, or 0.55%, to 6,606.5.

The FTSE 100 is up 8.7 points, or 0.13%, to 6,579.2 in early trading, as little news following the long weekend is keeping the index flat.