Investors were today given some relief from last week's woes, as the FTSE 100 Index edged ahead in early trading.

The fragile market last week slumped to its lowest close since September 24, with a sharp fall on Friday wiping £34 billion from the value of the index.

However, after trading closed in London, shares on Wall Street managed to battle back from harsh losses, giving London a lift this morning.

World Cup fever also helped the mood and in the first half hour of dealing the FTSE 100 Index was up 19.7 points at 4650.5.

While analysts had expected a brief rally today, they are not predicting a dramatic recovery in fortunes just yet.

David Buik, at financial bookmakers Cantor Index, said: "The carnage may not yet be over."

He said it would come as no surprise if the FTSE were to drop by another 150 points.

Justin Urquhart Stewart, of Seven Investment Management, was expecting more pain before conditions get better.

He predicted the Footsie will fall to about 4300 to 4500 before improving.

Investors should looked at safe havens such as tobacco, utilities and drinks companies but punters should not invest new money at the moment.

Among shares which were driving the Footsie higher today were insurance companies after a broker upgraded stocks in the sector.

Defence group BAE Systems gave the market a helping hand by saying it was pressing ahead in the £5 billion battle for the space and defence interests of US group TRW.

Bookies William Hill helped sentiment by getting off to a solid start on its first day of trading.

There is little company news expected this week and market movement is likely to be dictated by economic news and by the United States.

In the UK, the focus is on whether interest rates will rise in July or August and all eyes will be on inflation figures tomorrow, the Bank of England's minutes on Wednesday and High Street sales data on Thursday.