The London market made little headway today after a run of poor economic figures in the US provided a drag on a number of decent corporate updates.
A quiet day on the markets may be tested tomorrow as projections suggest inflation could slip into negative territory for the first time since 1960, according to official figures.
But today Marks & Spencer traded strongly ahead of the company's results on Wednesday as the FTSE 100 Index closed 8.4 points higher at 6968.9.
Silver miner Fresnillo and support services group Babcock International were among stocks that also performed well after impressing investors with their latest guidance.
The uncertain performance for European markets reflected concerns about the economic outlook, particularly in the wake of poor figures in China and disappointing US industrial production data before the weekend.
The pound was a cent higher against the euro at 1.38, after Greece said it needed a deal with its bailout lenders by the end of the month to avoid running out of money. Sterling was down slightly against the dollar, at just under 1.57.
Mexico's Fresnillo was the biggest riser in the FTSE 100 Index - up more than 5% or 40.5p to 792.5p - after it said it was on track to meet production targets for the current financial year.
And Babcock International, which employs 26,000 people across a range of sectors including defence, energy and transport, rose almost 3% or 30p to 1111p after posting a 43% rise in full-year profits to £313.1 million.
It also announced a 10% rise in dividend and said its £20 billion order book and bid pipeline meant there were "significant further opportunities" for growth.
M&S shares were higher - up 2% or 13p to 581p - amid forecasts that it will report its first improvement in annual results in four years.
Analysts expect the retailer to post full-year pre-tax profits up 4% to £648 million, after its key clothing division registered its first rise in sales last month following 14 consecutive quarters of decline.
Lloyds Banking Group shares were under pressure after Investec Securities downgraded the stock to sell from hold and said it may be as "good as it gets" for the bank after shares soared to a six-year high in the wake of a recent trading update and the result of the general election.
Shares were 0.9p lower at 88.1p in a session when Barclays was flat at 261.5p and Royal Bank of Scotland added 0.5p to 351.3p.
Outside the top flight, shares in gaming firm Bwin.party jumped almost 9% - up 8.6p to 108p - as rival 888 Holdings confirmed its interest in a takeover bid.
Bwin.party has some of the world's biggest online gaming brands, including partypoker, partycasino and FoxyBingo. Shares in 888 Holdings were down 2.8p to 167p.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were Fresnillo up 40.5p at 792.5p, Sage up 17.5p at 561.5p, Royal Mail up 13.6p at 499p, Babcock International up 30p at 1111p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 Index were BHP Billiton down 70p at 1463p, Hikma Pharmaceuticals down 30p at 2071p, Aviva down 7.5p at 535p and easyJet down 22p at 1678p.
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