Shares in state-backed Royal Bank of Scotland survived a choppy session unscathed after the Treasury's discounted sale of a 5.4 per cent chunk of the lender.
The £2.1 billion disposal saw the stock slip by more than two per cent at one stage to reach the offer price of 330p but it later recovered its poise to finish ahead on the day.
It came as the wider market was little changed on a quiet trading day with the FTSE 100 Index just 2 points lower at 6686.6.
The top-flight risers' board was led by Meggitt, up eight per cent after half-year results showing pre-tax profits up six per cent to £152 million at the engineering group, which specialises in the aerospace, defence and energy sectors.
Investors were cheered as the group said revenue growth for the full year would be in line with previous guidance. Shares added 36.8p to 501p.
At the other end of the table, drugs firm Shire fell six per cent after it disclosed details of a $30 billion (£19 billion) approach to buy US rival Baxalta. Shire's stock fell 335p to 5395p.
On currency markets, sterling was little changed, up slightly against the US dollar at 1.56 and also ahead on the euro at just above 1.42.
In European stocks, Germany's Dax saw a small rise and France's Cac 40 a slight fall. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average drifted a little a lower as investors digested corporate earnings figures.
Meanwhile on the FTSE 100 Index, RBS initially headed into the red after the Government's sale of a 5.4 per cent stake in the lender - which was rescued by the taxpayer at the height of the financial crisis.
The Government holding has now fallen from 78.3 per cent to 72.9 per cent.
Questions were raised about the timing of the sale - with the valuation of the stock well below the 502p price at which the Treasury bought it. But RBS still ended the session 1.4p higher at 339p.
Elsewhere, Churchill owner Direct Line Insurance was a climber after it reported a better-than-expected 49 per cent leap in half-year profits to £315m and lifted annual forecasts. Shares rose 9.8p to 375.8p.
Life and pensions firm Standard Life was down three per cent after a 66 per cent drop in annuity sales following recent pension reforms, although half-year underlying group operating profits lifted six per cent to £290m. Shares fell14.8p to 439.7p.
Builders' merchant and DIY group Travis Perkins was also lower despite its first-half operating profit excluding property transactions rising by nine per cent to £182m.
The Wickes owner, whose fortunes are linked to the UK property market, said a fall in mortgage approvals in mid-2014 had fed through to hit repair and maintenance markets in the second quarter of this year. Shares fell 43p to 2217p.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were Meggitt, up 36.8p at 501p, Smiths Group up 51p at 1200p, Old Mutual up 6p at 219.2p and Direct Line up 9.8p at 375.8p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 Index were Shire down 335p to 5395p, Coca-Cola HBC down 76p to 1268p, ARM Holdings down 45p to 948.5p and Standard Life down 14.8p to 439.7p.
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