After two of the main events of the market year - the US presidential election and the Chancellor of the Exchequer's pre-budget report - there were many in London's stock market were none the wiser about the potential short-term impact.
With the US election result still up in the air, dealers turned their attention to Gordon Brown, hoping for a decisive speech. In the event, they were disappointed with the outcome, described by one marketmaker as "containing no real surprises".
Initial reactions to the day's events from market strategists were generally muted.
Andy Hartwill, UK market strategist at SG Securities, said: "The US news is much more substantial than the pre-budget statement which had been pretty well trailed. The Chancellor has delivered a slightly more tighter bias than the market had expected. Prudence is definitely onside as far as the government is concerned.
`The news from both sides of the Atlantic and if, in fact, George W Bush is elected - keeps in place our view that we are close to and at the top of the interest rate cycle in the UK and the US with scope for rate cuts next year. It's time to start rotating back from defensive stocks towards cyclical sectors. If Bush wins, watch for a repeat of the kneejerk reaction in drugs and tobacco stocks."
A marketmaker said: "The UK market feels fine, the US market likewise. There is still a strong probability that some of the tech dreamstocks might yet go bang; most of the likely candidates have already done so. There is a lot of institutional money out there looking for a good home. They want to buy the market, but what do they buy? Everyone's looking for the next British Airways, Hanson or ICI."
The first of the day's big events, the US presidential election, left the market in a quandary for much of the morning.
As trading began in London it looked as if Mr Bush had come out on top. It then emerged that Florida, which would determine the outcome of the election, was so close that a recount would be needed.
At the close, the FTSE 100 index was a net 10.5 ahead at 6,477.4, having been up 47.8 at best, early in the day and down 12.0 at its worst.
The FTSE 250 edged up 8.3 to 6,813.4, the SmallCap 5.4 to 3,359.9. But the Techmark 100 finished 25.39 off at 3,436.76. Turnover was 1.79 billion shares.
While the London market was pondering the political news, it was another busy day for the corporate sector.
On the upside, Rentokil Initial held pole position in the FTSE 100 for much of the day, as some of the market's optimists adopted the view that the company's forthcoming trading update could provide some positive surprises.
And it was a winning session too for Invensys, thanks to the return of takeover speculation.
