Jittery markets make small gains

European markets made nervous gains Monday despite lingering fears that the world economy is heading back towards recession. The FTSE 100 Index in London gained 1.5 percent as traders decided that shares represented good value after the index fell five percent last week. However dealers said markets remain jittery after last week's poor economic data from the US and Eurozone created fresh panic about the prospect of a global recession. The glut of bad news caused London's blue chip index to suffer its biggest daily loss in nearly three years on Thursday, wiping 62.3 billion pounds from the value of the UK's 100 biggest companies. In another session of volatile trading today, London's leading shares index slid nearly one percent at the start of the session - taking it below the 5, 000 mark - but it bounced back shortly afterwards. Gold continued to hit new record highs, rising to USD 1,895 US (1,151 pounds) per ounce, because it is seen as a safe haven amid the market turmoil, the dealers said. Oil prices fell more than two percent, on speculation that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's 40-year rule in Libya is on the edge of collapse, which traders think could reopen supplies from the war-torn country.