Britain's top share index rose on Tuesday, helped by earnings newsflow, though trade was likely to be subdued ahead of a U.S. presidential election seen as too close to call.
As polls showed President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney were deadlocked, fund managers underlined the uncertainty which could prevail after the election around the "fiscal cliff" of tax rises and spending cuts.
"Markets will be very quiet today with traders watching the U.S. elections above anything else," said Lex van Dam, hedge fund manager at Hampstead Capital, which manages around $500 million of assets.
"The topic for the next two months will be how the politicians are going to avoid the fiscal cliff which might be easier if there is a clear winner today."
The FTSE 100 was up 23.12 points, or 0.4%, at 5,862.18 by 0934 GMT, having slipped 0.5% on Monday in thin volume.
Technical analysts see little other than near-term sideways action for the index, which has been stuck in a 200-point range since mid-September.
"Unfortunately it could go on for quite a while," Phil Roberts, technical strategist at Barclays, said.
"The issue is you've got old highs from the first quarter of this year (March 14 at 5,989), and then you've got the high from 2011 just above that (6,105) – that's a lot of resistance to get through."
RESULTS BEATS
Marks & Spencer rose 2% after the bellwether British retailer beat profit forecasts, though traders said the stock, which has been on the rise on the back of bid speculation, could come in for a bout of profit-taking.
"M&S have struggled to manage a turnaround strategy and we still see downside risk that is yet to be priced in, even with a valuation that represents a sector discount, given that they remain cautious on the outlook." said Atif Latif, director of trading at Guardian Stockbrokers.
UK retailers are generally finding the going tough as consumers hold back spending in the face of inflation, meagre wage increases and government austerity measures.
As such, British retail sales slowed sharply in October, the British Retail Consortium said, dampening hopes that consumers will drive the economic recovery.
M&S shares are up 27% this year – against a rise of about 5 percent from the UK benchmark.
Elsewhere, InterContinental Hotels, the world's biggest hotelier, advanced 1.7% after it unveiled operating profit of $167 million in the quarter to the end of September, just ahead of consensus forecasts.
This came as the British-based group said it is opening up talks on the sale of its New York Barclay hotel to a wider group of prospective buyers after holding lengthy exclusive talks with one group.
