dow jones industrial average

The FTSE 100 index racked up 23.4 points to close just five points shy of the 5,000 mark on Thursday, led by some big advances from firms including Whitbread and Man Group.

Telecom stocks, paced by Vodafone has pressurised the FTSE into a seven-point drop today, closing at 4982.50 points.

Early morning trading has seen the UK's benchmark FTSE 100 index fall by about 11 points to 4688, while the FTSE All-Share index is of by about 1.5 points to 2332.