Blue-chip banking shares have fallen after big losses reported by Deutsche Bank clouded the outlook for their results next month.
Shares in Barclays were 2% lower after Germany's biggest lender posted a fourth quarter deficit of €1.2 billion (£989 million) reflecting a 16% fall in revenues as well as one-off expenses and losses on disposals.
The FTSE 100 Index rose 7.4 points to 6836.7, with trading in Europe quiet due to US markets being closed for Martin Luther King Day. Bourses in France and Germany slipped into the red.
Chinese GDP growth figures, which dipped to the lowest level since 1999 at 7.7% but still came in 0.1% ahead of estimates, failed to have a major impact.
On currency markets, sterling was flat at $1.64 and €1.21.
The major news of the session came from Deutsche Bank, which brought forward its full-year figures from January 29 after they came in below market expectations.
Its 31% year-on-year drop in revenues from fixed income, commodity and currency trading (FICC) followed disappointing updates in this area from the large US investment banks.
Barclays was down 5.8p to 282.8p and Royal Bank of Scotland slipped 4.7p to 359p on the back of the Deutsche Bank update.
HSBC was off 4.7p to 673p while Lloyds fell 0.3p to 83.2p.
Gary Greenwood, a banking analyst at Shore Capital stockbrokers, noted that FICC WAs likely to have accounted for approximately 20% and 15% of total group income at Barclays and RBS respectively last year.
Elsewhere in the FTSE 100, the risers board featured oil and gas engineer Weir after a gain of 90p to 2227p. Royal Dutch Shell came under fresh pressure following its profits warning yesterday but by the close the stock had recovered slightly, up 1p to 2280.5p, after a fall of 1% over the previous session.
BT shares were also squeezed after the Sunday Times reported that Vodafone and satellite broadcaster BSkyB had explored ways to strengthen themselves against the telecoms firm.
It said the two companies discussed deals on Sky's sports and movie channels as well as collaborating on a high-speed broadband service. BT's shares were 3.9p lower at 379.5p and Vodafone dropped 0.05p to 239.95p. BSkyB, which is due to release results next week, was 14p higher at 854p.
Outside the top flight, shares in Mothercare surged 6% or 17p to 289p on the back of speculation Tesco is considering a swoop for the babycare products retailer. Tesco fell 1.5p to 329.56p.
The biggest FTSE 100 risers were Fresnillo, up 44.5p to 776.5p, Randgold Resources up 230p to 4185p, Weir and Hargreaves Lansdown up 56p to 1509p.
The biggest FTSE 100 fallers were Barclays, Prudential down 19p to 1345p, Rio Tinto down 47p to 3336p and Royal Bank of Scotland.
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