Once again it was the TMT stocks so badly mauled in the recent sell-off that provided the backbone to a reasonably solid performance by London's equity market yesterday.

But as has been the case for much of the week, it was much more difficult for the second- and third-ranking stocks to make any progress as investors tended to concentrate their buying efforts at what is seen as the top-quality end of the TMT areas.

The real disappointment for market operators, however, came with the disappointing level of genuine activity in the market yesterday as many fund managers left work early for the bank holiday weekend. Turnover at 6 p.m. was a subdued 1.3 billion shares.

At the end of a session which saw the FTSE 100 swing in a 100-point arc, the index was left with a modest 14.2 decline at 6,216.9. That performance left the index 171.5, or 2.8 per cent, higher over the week.

There was some disappointment with that final number, especially as the market had fought back well from its initial, rather depressing performance. That saw the index pick itself up from an early 77-point fall and post a 21-point gain prior to Wall Street's opening.

The market picture at the close was in sharp contrast to the early part of the session which was shrouded in gloom as dealers reacted to the weak overnight performances of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite.

The former came clattering down at the close, ending 211 points lower, and the latter settled 65 points down after poor performances from leading investment bank shares and also from Microsoft, a leading component of both market measures. Wall St was much quieter yesterday, the Dow trading modestly higher as London closed.

"One would have to say today was not a true reflection of current sentiment. Most people have kept out of the front line with the long weekend in front of them," said one market-maker.

"Things might not be so subdued when we kick off next week, especially with the non-farm payroll report on Friday," he warned, however, in a reference to the strong possibility that strong job creation last month could substantially up the pressure for another 50 basis points increase in US interest rates.

Unlike the 100 index the midcap and smallcap indices were always in negative territory. But dealers said there was never really any threat that these would go into a tailspin. The FTSE 250 closed 16.1 off at 6,137.7, down 46 over the week, while the SmallCap index finished 1.6 easier at 3,156.3, 43.26 lower over the five days.