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FTSE closes down 3.0 pc,off low on U.S.firmness LONDON: London stocks bounced a little from savage early losses on Monday but hit a six-month closing low as early firmness in U.S. blue chip and technology stocks offered some solace to battered equity markets.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 ended 183.5 points or three percent lower at 5,994.6, having recovered from a six-month, intra-day low of 5,915.2 at the start of trade.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average wobbled at the start of U.S. trade before turning positive to be nearly one percent higher as London closed.

Early falls in the technology-led Nasdaq index -- the villain of the piece as far as equity market bulls are concerned -- also reversed, to leave it 3.2 percent up by the same time.

"There was no big surprise in the downturn or in the apparent stabilisation but we are not out of the woods yet," said SG Securities equity strategist Andy Hartwill.

He said volatility would remain the market theme at least until next month's meeting of U.S. interest rate policy makers and their decision on whether to raise borrowing costs by 0.25 percent or a full half point.

FTSE 100 losers outpaced the gainers by nearly nine to one, with volume at a decent 1.6 billion shares in official trade.

London fell from the start of business in reaction to Wall Street's late losses at the end of last week, when data showing higher-than-expected inflation sent the Dow to a 5.66 percent closing loss and chopped 9.67 percent from the Nasdaq.

Analysts were already saying that Friday's core 0.4 percent U.S. inflation figure -- trigger to equity market falls around the world -- was only one month's data. "I don't believe we are about to see the end of our universe as we know it," said James Montier, investment strategist at brokerage Albert E Sharp Securities. One constant in an uncertain equity market was the influence of FTSE 100 heavyweight Vodafone Airtouch whose 4.4 percent fall knocked 37 points from the main index.

Bank stocks together accounted for another 28 points while drug companies took off 16 points.

The top 10 FTSE 100 losers showed no clear trend, including a variety of names like miner Anglo American , financial services group Schroders electrical goods retailer Dixons and business services provider Hays .

Some big-name technology stocks -- having been hit hard at the start of play -- ended back in positive territory on a late surge of volume and late-reported trades which had the whiff of institutional bargain hunting.

Hand-held computer maker Psion and Irish Internet security company Baltimore Technologies ended among the FTSE 100's main gainers after sharp early losses.

Computer software firms Logica , Sema and CMG also ended in the black having dropped early on.

The techMARK 100 continued its slide, closing down 3.9 percent at 3,390.5, its sixth successive day of losses and more than 41 percent below its March peak.

FTSE mid cap stocks fell 4.1 percent to 5,967 points while small cap stocks dropped 4.8 percent to 3,053.

Richard Marshall, technical analyst at Investment Reseach of Cambridge, said last October's FTSE 100 levels at 5,900 offered support and pinpointed overhead barriers to a bounce.

"With the 200-day moving average at 6,362 decisively penetrated, this will now be a line of resistance on any technical rally," he said in a note.-Reuters