London equities were stable at the start of trading on Wednesday, following encouraging gains in Asia and as traders nervously eyed plunging oil prices and Greek woes.
The benchmark FTSE 100 index edged up just 0.03 percent, or 1.72 points, to 6,368.23 points after more losses on Wall Street and in Europe on Tuesday.
Investors remained nervous as oil prices hit new five-and-a-half-year lows and fears of a Greek exit from the eurozone sent the euro skidding.
Sainsbury's was the biggest climber in early trade, gaining 3.70 percent to 243.50 pence, despite posting its first fall in Christmas sales for a decade and warning that its outlook remained "challenging".
The supermarket reported a 1.7 percent fall in like-for-like sales over the quarter including Christmas but this marked an improvement on the previous quarter.
Asian markets earlier staged a recovery with Tokyo, which lost more than three percent Tuesday, gaining 2.14 points to close at 16,885.33.
Other European stocks also edged up Wednesday, with Frankfurt's DAX 30 adding 0.43 percent to 9,510.34 points and the CAC 40 in Paris rising 0.69 percent to 4,111.73.
Investors remain on edge as they await the release of US Federal Reserve minutes later in the day and jobs data on Friday.
Global stock markets have been routed at the start of the year as oil prices continue to slump -- losing more than 50 percent since June -- and dealers take profits after some healthy gains in 2014.
AFP