U.K. stocks eked out modest gains in cautious trade on Wednesday as investors awaited the release of the Federal Reserves preferred measure of inflation and weighed the potential impact of U.S. President-elect Donald Trumps tariff proposals on economic growth.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 12 points, or 0.2 percent, at 8,271 after declining 0.4 percent on Tuesday.
Johnson Matthey, a chemicals and specialist technologies firm, slumped 7 percent after posting a drop in sales and profits in the six months to September end.
EasyJet rallied 2 percent as the airline reported a rise in annual profits following a second record-breaking summer.
GSK edged up slightly after receiving approval from EU regulators for its liquid meningitis vaccine Menveo.