STOCKBROKERS will today be hoping to continue a strong surge in share prices to end the working week on a positive note.

The FTSE 100 Index has endured a roller-coaster ride in recent months, culminating in a near eight-year low at the close of play on Wednesday.

About £40bn was wiped off the value of shares in that one day, but strong trading yesterday reversed those losses in the market's biggest rise in percentage terms since October 1987.

The Footsie ended up 199.9 points at 3486.9 - a figure woefully low in comparison to the state of the market before Christmas.

Despite a decisive rally, analysts are still worried that underlying economic trends are not going to help the markets.

There was some suggestion that yesterday's impressive gains were solely down to bargain hunting as investors picked over the bones of a depressed trading floor.

The City had the Americans to thank for a promising start to the day.

A resilient performance from Wall Street on Wednesday night boosted morale in London and progress for the Dow Jones Industrial Average continued yesterday.

Tom Hougaard, of financial bookmakers City Index, said: "This was the most encouraging close I could have imagined. I was looking for a final capitulation day today."

Investors had feared more losses after uncertainty over Iraq drove the FTSE 100 Index to its lowest point since June 1995 last night.

Peter Cogliatti, of brokers Williams de Broe, said it was clear that the sell-off had been overdone.

He said: "There was nothing yesterday to warrant such a fall. It looks like it was just down to selling into an unreceptive market."

However, he said the future direction of the market still remained unclear.