The London market struggled for direction as commodity stocks rallied higher despite a drop in the price of oil.
The FTSE 100 Index was up 8.4 points to 6212.6, as Brent crude dropped 0.7% to 41.65 US dollars a barrel, dampening prospects for global trade.
However, the mining giants dominated the biggest risers, with Anglo American up 24.8p to 572p, Glencore up 4.4p to 141.2p, while Fresnillo climbed 20p to 953p.
Across Europe, Germany’s Dax was up 0.8% and France’s Cac 40 also rose 0.76%.
In stocks, supermarket giant Tesco saw its share price climb ahead of its full-year results on Wednesday, as investors expect progress to be made on its turnaround plan.
The City expects the UK’s largest supermarket to reveal underlying full-year pre-tax profits down 3% to £932 million, a vast improvement on the 68% fall it reported a year ago.