LONDON (dpa-AFX) - After a positive start, the U.K. stock market retreated and pared most of its gains on Thursday morning, with investors largely refraining from making significant moves and looking for direction after two successive days of strong gains.
With the buoyancy over U.S. - China trade talks subsiding slightly, the market has turned subdued amid uncertainty over Brexit.
The FTSE 100 is currently down 12.96 points, or 0.19 percent, at 6867.26, off an early high of 6910.25. The index had gained 1.08 percent on Wednesday, after having moved up by 1.27% a day earlier.
Barratt Developments, Hammerson, DCC, British American Tobacco, Marks & Spencer, BP, Mondi, Reckitt Benckiser and Royal Dutch Shell are down 1.7 to 3 percent.
Glencore, TUI, Antofagasta, Taylor Wimpey, Shire and Aviva are up 2 to 5 percent. British Prime Minister Theresa May, who survived a confidence vote on Wednesday, will be attending the EU summit in Brussels today and look to get some additional concessions on the Irish border aspect of the agreement.
In the currency market, the pound, which was hovering around $1.2670 earlier this morning, is currently at $1.2653.
Meanwhile, markets across Europe are looking ahead to European Central Bank's monetary policy statement, due later in the day.
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