Around the World's Markets: London

A VOLATILE session ended with Footsie sporting a 23.5-point gain at 5,896. Much of the action was among smaller cap shares, with the mid cap index climbing to its highest level since August.

Securicor led the blue chips, with a 42.5p surge to 631.5p. The Government's decision to give BT more flexibility over its mobile phone operations produced speculation that it would buy Securicor's 40 per cent Cellnet stake to take full control.

Derek Pain, page 19