London's leading shares surrendered early gains to reach lunchtime up 2.5 points at 4063.4.
The FTSE 100 Index initially climbed by as much as 30 points after being buoyed by steady progress on Wall Street overnight and reassuring figures from a clutch of UK companies.
But, with an announcement on American interest rates not due until after the London market closes, many traders were opting to wait on the sidelines.
While most commentators are expecting the Federal Reserve to announce a cut, opinion is divided over how far Alan Greenspan will go, with many now expecting a cut of as much as half of one per cent.
In London, the biggest winners were retailers after high street electricals group Dixons beat trimmed down profit forecasts. Predictions were scaled back earlier in the year after Dixons reported a disappointing Christmas period but its overseas business helped drive progress.
Dixons itself soared 13% or 14p to 125.75p while rival Kingfisher followed with an 8.5p gain to 272p and Argos-owner GUS climbed 16.25p to reach 666.25p.
Sainsbury's rose 6.25p to 257.5p, Morrisons jumped 3p to 184.75p and Tesco was up 3.5p at 215p. Marks & Spencer gained 2.5p at 305.25p and Cable & Wireless was 4.5p higher at 106.5p after announcing the sale of its French internet access business.
Among the banks, HBOS edged 0.5p higher to 807p after announcing a joint venture arrangement with Direct Line founder Peter Wood to target high-premium car insurance customers. Rival Abbey National was 11.25p higher at 483.5p and insurer Royal & Sun Alliance put on 4% or 6.25p at 136.25p.
Outside the top flight, bus and train operator Stagecoach climbed 2.25p to 59p even though annual results showed it dropping into the red at the bottom line. Rival Arriva was also up 2.75p at 339.75p.
But IT services firm Xansa saw its shares slide more than 7% or 7p to 87.5p after it issued a cautious outlook and reported a 40% fall in annual pre-tax profits.