The FTSE 100 recovered from some of its earlier losses to finish just above the 5,000 mark, in what was, once again, not  a day for nervous investors.

Software company Autonomy (AU.L) was the stand-out performer, following news of the £7.1 billion from US giant Hewlett-Packard.

Autonomy saw its share price rise by 72.3 percent to 2,460p, on the back of the news which was the sole source of optimism for traders today.

Volatility in the markets has, of course, had benefits for the price of gold, which has continued to perform strongly.

Among the beneficiaries were precious metals miners Fresnillo (FRES.L) and Randgold Resources (RRS.L).

Mexican miner Fresnillo saw its share price rise by 7.3 per cent, the second strongest riser, to 1,974p, while Randgold climbed a credible 3 per cent higher to 6,605p.

Also in the top five risers was oil & gas services company Petrofac (PFC.L) rising 3.7 per cent to 1,175p and publisher Reed Elsevier (REL.L) up 3 per cent to 474.9p.

The biggest faller after Friday's session was Essar Energy (ESSR.L) dropping by 9.1 per cent to 256.6p.

Meanwhile, British Airways and Iberia umbrella Company Inernational Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG.L) dropped 5.9 per cent to 168.8p.

Banks were not forgotten either with Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS.L) dropping 5.1 per cent to 20.83p, as Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) shed 4.6 per cent to 28.42p. Plumbing supplies company Wolseley (WOS.L) also saw its share price fall 4.6 per cent to 1,405p.

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