Monday A fightback by London’s leading shares petered out as investors failed to take heart from an ear y rally in New York.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index fell back into the red, ending the day 14.4 points down at 4142.7, after moving 22 points ahead by lunchtime.

In contrast, the ow Jones Industrial Average advanced 32 points by London’s close as fund managers on the other side of the pond aimed for a positive end to the month.

W th fewer corporate results this week, the focus is set to move to the economy, with reports on manufacturing and service industries set to give investors a clearer picture later this week.

Figures on debt and consumer confidence painted a mixed picture of prospects for the retail sector, but Friday’s announcement clearing a bid for Safeway by Morrison sparked a wave of comment on the future of the sector at the weekend. Most of the players in the Safeway saga lost ground on Friday , but made progress on Monday.

Safeway was second in the list of Footsie ri sers, gaining 6.5p to 282.5p, while Morrison’s built on early gains to end the day 4p ahead at 215.75p.

Sainsbury’s put on 1.25p to 276.75p, but Tesco lost out, dipping 1.5p to 239.5p.

Wednesday London’s benchma r k FTSE 100 Index opened the new quarter with a powerful showing, fighting back against the gloom which has dragged down markets on bo t h sides of the Atlantic.

After ending September at a sevenweek low on Tuesday night, the blue chip index built on ear y gains to stand 77.9 points higher at 4169.2 by the close of trading.

The mood was sha r ed on Wall Street where the heavy fall of the previous session was virtually wiped out in a bright start to business in New York.

Closer to home, surprisingly upbeat manufacturing figures fuelled the positive sentiment, with manufacturers appearing to benefit from the lower pound since the start of the year and signs of improvement in global demand.

The major corporate news of the day came f rom troubled nuclear power group British Energy, which said it had signed a deal to avoid being placed into administration.

The group’s shares were suspended at 5.35p pending signing of the agreement, but were later restored to trading as the dea was confirmed. The stock closed the session 0.03p higher at 5.38p.

I nsurer Roya

& Sun A llia nce bounced back after Tuesday’s losses, topping the list of Footsie risers with a 5.75p gain to 86.5p.

Tuesday The FTSE 100 Index continued its retreat towards the 4000 mark as gloomy economic data f rom the United States rocked sentiment.

Weaker-than-expected consumer confidence figures were largely to blame as the ow Jones Industrial Average fell 100 points by the time of London’s close.

The knock-on effect for the Footsie was a 51.4 points decline to 4091.3, with traders witnessing a rapid deterioration in the market after lunch.

The performance means the top flight index completed the third quarter at its lowest point since the start of August. It has a so fallen more than 200 points in the last two weeks as nerves return to the City.

Even a surprise rise in second quarter G P numbers in the UK failed to spur on investors, as just 13 companies found pos t i ve territory. And most of those on the risers board were way off earlier highs.

They included media group Granada, up only 0.5p to 93.5p despite benefiting from a cyclical bounceback in the wake of weakness in the last few sessions.

Hedge fund manager Man Group ust held on to pos t ve territory, ahead 4p to 1304p, after unveiling a trading statement ahead of City estimates.

On the downside, Royal & Sun Alliance continued its turbulent times of late with a 3.5p fall to 81.25p.

Other insurers followed suit, with Prudential down 10.75p to 410.75p, and Aviva off 15p to 467p.

Thursday A late rally triggered by a positive opening in the United States pushed London’s leading sha r es back above the 4200 barrier.

After hovering just below the support level for most of the day, the FTSE 100 Index put on a final spurt to close 39.9 points up at 4209.1.

Trading on Wall Street opened in upbeat mood, with financial stocks leading the ow Jones Industrial Average higher a f ter Wednesday ‘ s 194-point gain.

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London, banks and insurance companies a so made steady progress as investors continued to celebrate this week’s upbeat news from the manufacturing sector in Europe and the US.

Mo r e pos i t ve economic da t a emerged in the UK today, with the buoyant construction sector showing a further marked expansion during September, growing for the 56th consecutive month.

On a slow day for corporate news, computing firm Sage Group topped the Footsie risers, gaining more than 6% or 10.5p to 175.5p, after a broker said a trading update on October 20 should confirm a robust performance in tough ma r ket conditions. A confident third quarter trading sta t ement f r om mortgage bank Northern Rock boosted ts share price by 12p to 705p.

Unveiling plans to expand, the bank said lending to home buyers continued at record levels in the first nine months of 2003.