ANOTHER session dominated by fears over the global recovery left the FTSE 100 Index deep in negative territory yesterday, despite a rally for oil stocks after a surprise decision by Opec not to increase oil production.

The FTSE 100 Index finished 55.8 points lower at 5808.9 as comments from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday night had a detrimental effect on world markets.

Mr Bernanke admitted the US recovery was taking time, but failed to signal further monetary policy action.

The bearish mood was also driven by a fresh warning from Moody’s that the UK could lose its cherished triple-A credit rating if economic growth remains weak and the coalition Government softens its fiscal targets.

The global economic fears caused mining shares to slump, with Antofagasta at the top of the fallers board after dropping 64p to 1222.5p.

But the announcement from Opec caused oil prices, which had slipped in early trading, to rebound above the $100-abarrel mark.

As a result, Royal Dutch Shell reversed its earlier falls to stand 3.5p higher at 2136p, while BP pared much of its earlier losses, and was off 4p to 444.15p.

Pollution filter and metal refiner Johnson Matthey was near the top of the fallers board with a decline of 71p to 1952p.

Other fallers included Primark owner Associated British Foods, which declined 25p to 1044p after privately-owned rival New Look delivered a grim fullyear trading update with operating profits down 40 per cent to £98m.

There was better news from Punch Taverns, which said the recent hot weather had helped boost trading. With its managed estate reporting a 7.3 per cent rise in like-for-like sales, shares in the FTSE 250 Index company were 4.75p higher at 74.95p.