A better session for energy stocks today helped the FTSE 100 Index steady after its worst week of trading since August 2011.
Investors found some value in a number of heavyweight oil companies as the price of Brent crude stabilised at around $63 a barrel.
Despite more big losses for Asian markets overnight, the FTSE 100 Index was 30.5 points higher at 6331.1, with Royal Dutch Shell up 46p at 2077.5p, Tullow Oil up 5% or 19.3p to 386.6p and BG Group 26.6p higher at 845.6p.
The mood was in sharp contrast to the slump of 2.5% seen on Friday as more than £112 billion was wiped from the value of blue-chip shares. It completed the worst week in more than three years, with shares down by 6.6% due to the tumbling price of oil and jitters over the global economy.