The UK’s FTSE 100 lagged behind international peers on Wednesday, despite takeover news propelling two stocks to the top of the index.
The blue-chip index edged just 1.02 points higher, or 0.01%, to close at 7,931.98.
The tepid performance came despite the share prices of Diploma and DS Smith rising by nearly a 10th.
DS Smith said it was in talks with a US-based paper producer, despite already agreeing to a deal with British rival Mondi.
It means it could be the latest company to be at the centre of a bidding battle.
Furthermore, investors were feeling positive about Diploma after the distribution business said it had agreed to buy a US firm which specialises in aerospace fasteners.
Nevertheless, the gains were not enough to boost the FTSE 100, which was dragged down by losses for energy and banking stocks.
It was a stronger day of trading for other stock markets in Europe.
In Frankfurt, the Dax rose 0.49% and in Paris, the Cac 40 moved 0.25% higher.
Over in the US, the S&P 500 was up about 0.35% and the Dow Jones up 0.7% by the time European markets closed.
The pound was more or less flat against the US dollar at 1.263, and was up about 0.1% against the euro at 1.167.
In other company news, shares in S4 Capital fell after the digital marketing business told shareholders 2023 had been a difficult year.
It suffered a hit to sales and earnings and revealed it had cut its workforce by more than 13% in efforts to reduce costs. Shares in S4 closed 6.9% lower.
It was a better day for Revolution Beauty which upped its profit outlook and said it was starting to see a positive impact from its new strategy.
The troubled make-up firm is emerging from a period of turbulence, having first encountered issues in 2022 when its auditors refused to sign off on its accounts for the previous year.
The more optimistic outlook led to its share price rising by 9% on Wednesday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were DS Smith, up 36.8p to 396.6p, Diploma, up 324p to 3,750p, Sainsbury’s, up 9.4p to 271.9p, IAG, up 5.5p to 171.5p, and AstraZeneca, up 302p to 10,742p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Flutter Entertainment, down 1,420p to 15,675p, St James’s Place, down 10.9p to 452.3p, Standard Chartered, down 15.8p to 679.2p, Smiths Group, down 36.5p to 1,653.5p, and Spirax-Sarco, down 210p to 10,100p.