Around the World's Markets: London

FOOTSIE'S THREE-DAY winning streak ended as a blue chips retreat left the index nursing a 101.1 points fall to 6,206.5. In heavy trading two-thirds of Wednesday's sharp advance was lost. Supporting shares remained in positive territory but their progress was modest.

Asda was one of the best performers with a 3.88 per cent recovery to 154p. Railtrack rebounded 49p to 1,475p after forecasting 3 per cent passenger growth, producing pounds 4.6bn a year.

Derek Pain, page 25