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The FTSE 100 opened with a drop but bounced back to hold its value.

At 8:52 BST the index stood at 4,073.73 – a rise of 32.84 points or 0.81 per cent.

The slow start in London followed a 5.69 per cent drop last night for the Dow Jones on Wall Street on a day when the index dropped to its lowest level in over five years.

Drops continued over night in Asia – with the Nikkei down 2.46 per cent and the Hang Seng down 3.85 per cent.

At one point the Tokyo index was down over seven per cent to its lowest since spring 2003.

In London it was the miners again that anchored the FTSE 100.

Lonmin dropped 5.76 per cent, Antofagasta was down 5.72 per cent, Rio Tinto fell 4.40 per cent and recent good performer Fresnillo was down 5.34 per cent.

BT Group was down 3.13 per cent.

Leading the gains was investment manager Man Group rising 4.24 per cent.

Unilever was up 3.91 per cent, Alliance Trust gained 3.81 per cent, Vodafone rose 3.69 per cent and Admiral Group gained 3.31 per cent.

On the currency markets, sterling maintained its level after recent falls and was up 0.612 per cent to $1.628.

Against the euro it was at €1.272 – making €1 worth £0.786.