The London market is in lacklustre form after failing to take its cue from an overnight rally on Wall Street.
The FTSE 100 index was 6.6 points lower at 4504.6 by lunchtime despite a buoyant performance from a number of telecoms stocks.
In London, mmO2 led telecoms stocks higher with a 1.5p gain to 83.5p as the sector awaited results from European giants Nokia and Siemens. Also on the up was Vodafone, which cheered 0.5p to 147.25p, while Carphone Warehouse added 1.5p to 145.p.
But insurance group Prudential was struggling after it said it remained cautious about prospects for its UK business. While the Pru did report stronger fourth quarter sales, the blue-chip stock still slipped 4% or 22p to 492p. The group had warned that uncertainty about the outcome of various Government and regulatory reviews would offset signs of a return in consumer confidence.
AstraZeneca topped the risers after reaching a new deal with Cyprotex to provide essential information on compounds from their drug discovery projects. The stock rose 2% or 63p to 2673p.
Among other top flight stocks, supermarket group Tesco fell 3p to 245.25p, despite announcing plans to buy London-based convenience store retailer Adminstore for £53.7 million.
Elsewhere, chocolate firm Thorntons was finally able to report some good news after seeing total sales improve by 4.4% to £109.3 million over the 28 weeks ending January 10. Margins remained under pressure as shares dropped a penny to 161.5p.
Catalogue retailer N Brown was another faller - down 2.75p to 118.5p - after reporting that Royal Mail industrial action last autumn had caused significant disruption of sales patterns and cash receipts in the run-up to Christmas.
Software group Misys was also down 9.75p at 224p or 4% - after reporting "disappointing" half year results in the face of continued weakness in its key banking and finance markets. The Evesham-based group said operating profits in the six months to November 30 fell 45% to £17 million.
Gaming group Stanley Leisure was proving a favourite with investors - despite profits being hit by a weaker performance at its world-renowned London casino Crockfords. Shares advanced 6p to 409p on news