Stocks finished slightly higher after a lackluster session on London's Stock Exchange Wednesday, as investors found little reason to buy. Dealers said the market appeared to be treading water, in anticipation of a barrage of British economic data and corporate earnings reports due to be released later in the week. Tuesday's news that Drexel Burnham Lambert Group Inc. filed for protection under U.S. bankruptcy law still overshadowed the market, dealers said. ``Any rise in the market will be short-lived,'' said the head of equities at a London firm. ``There's far too much concern on (the prospect for higher) interest rates and the possibility that New York will fall out of bed, sooner or later, over this Drexel thing.'' Although Wall Street got off to a healthy start, London traders said there wasn't any discernible leadership coming from New York. The Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100-share index was up 5.1 points, or 0.2 percent, at 2,298.3. The Financial Times 30-share index was up 4.3 points at 1,822.4. The Financial Times 500-share index rose 2.67 points to close at 1,253.05. Volume amounted to a modest 465.2 million shares, compared with 436.4 million shares Tuesday.
