FTSE

London opened marginally weaker on Wednesday, continuing the softer trend seen towards the end of Tuesday's session, with retailers in focus in the early going.

City analysts believe the FTSE 100 could hit an all-time high of almost 7,000 points this year as the global economic recovery gathers pace.

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London's top share index ticked towards 6,000 late on Wednesday as tech giant ARM Holdings added 11% on rumours of a deal with Microsoft.

The FTSE 100 is expected to receive a powerful boost from strong US markets overnight which hit highs last seen before the collapse of Lehman Brothers two years ago.

The FTSE was trading more than 40 points higher this morning at 5,933, its highest level since June 2008.

The FTSE had a volatile start to this week's trading as investor fears over the eurozone crisis took hold but the index is now up 0.12% to 5874.

The FTSE 100 closed at its highest level since 2008 last night but has fallen back in today's trading following late weakness in the US.

The FTSE edged 0.1% lower to 5,853.66 points in early trading as company-specific news guided price moves.

A flurry of merger and acquisition rumours failed to prevent the FTSE slipping into negative territory after making initial gains on the back of buoyant mining stocks.