Weakness in commodity issues pulled Britain's leading shares 0.1 percent lower at midday on Wednesday, countering mixed to firmer showings from banks and oil majors with most investors happy to keep to the sidelines.
At 1050 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was 3.92 points lower at 5,776.43, stuck in a tight 25 point trading range.
Volume was thin as many traders extended their Easter holidays, with just 21 percent of the 90 day average trades recorded by midday.
Miners were the main drag on blue chip sentiment as metal prices ticked lower, with the sector weaker after posting good gains on Tuesday
BHP Billiton, Antofagasta, Anglo American, and Kazakhmys lost between 0.7 and 1.9 percent.
"Equities are really just drifting at the moment, and with the date now set for the British election we'll just be (opinion) poll watching for the foreseeable future," said David Morrison, market strategist at GFT Global.
A daily YouGov/Sun poll on Wednesday showed the gap between the opposition Conservative Party and the ruling Labour Party narrowed to 8 points. This would make the Conservatives the largest party in parliament, but without an overall majority. See
Oil majors were mostly weaker as the crude price slipped back slightly after recent strong gains, with BP, BG Group, Tullow Oil, and Cairn Energy down 0.3 to 0.8 percent.
But heavyweight Royal Dutch Shell bucked the trend, adding 0.9 percent and helping the sector as a whole register gains.
Banks also lent underlying strength to the blue chips, with Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC, and Standard Chartered up 0.1 to 1.1 percent.
Mobile telecoms heavyweight Vodafone was a drag on the FTSE 100, down 1.4 percent as hopes for a resolution of the future of its U.S. joint venture with Verizon faded.
Ex-dividend factors knocked 2.28 points off the index on Wednesday, with Prudential, British Land and Pearson all losing their dividend attractions.
British Land also suffered after UBS cut its stance to "neutral" from "buy" in a review of the UK real estate sector.
Broker comment gave a lift to two blue-chip retailers, with Next taking on 2.7 percent after Citigroup upgraded its stance to "buy" from "hold", while Kingfisher firmed 4.1 percent after BofA Merrill Lynch hiked its target price.
MAN WANTED
Man Group was the top FTSE 100 gainer, jumping 6.4 percent after the hedge fund firm's flagship AHL fund saw a 3.81 percent rise in its weekly net asset value, and as Execution Noble started coverage on the stock with a "buy" rating.
Energy developments business Enquest was the top FTSE 100 faller, down 3.3 percent following its demerger by Petrofac on Tuesday. Petrofac shares fell 2.4 percent.
Output in Britain's service sector fell during a snowy January at its fastest monthly pace since August, more than reversing the previous month's gain, official data showed. This dented the pound but left the equity market unaffected.
The Office for National Statistics said services output fell 0.7 percent on the month after a 0.6 percent rise in December. Year-on-year, output was down 1.1 percent in January, the same as the previous month.
However, a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce, released overnight, showed a strengthening of the services sector in the first three months of this year, while manufacturing stagnated.
And British shop price inflation slowed last month to its weakest pace since November, restrained by the smallest rise in food prices for three years, a survey by the British Retail Consortium showed.
