Blue-chip shares have given up slim initial gains to trade mildly lower, depressed by a weak start on Wall Street, with volumes modest as investors straggle back to work after the Easter holiday.
Midcap shares showed the biggest movements in an otherwise flat London share market with security services firm Chubb down 8.2 per cent after it said full year profits would be well below target.
Moving the other way electronics and ceramics engineer Cookson Group rose 6.3 percent ahead of its annual general meeting due on Thursday.
Among the leaders banking groups Standard Chartered and HSBC -- which have heavy exposure to Asia -- showed falls of one to two percent on worries the SARS outbreak would damage the region's economy.
By 14:00 the FTSE 100 was down 2.3 points to 3,886.9, having touched 3,921.9 in early business and dipped to 3,873.9 shortly after the New York opening.
Volume was a moderate 910 million shares.
Dealers said a pickup in takeover talk in the last week had aided sentiment, lifting optimism that depressed valuations could trigger corporate activity