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The FTSE 100 shrugged off its earlier losses to trade flat by midday at 7,255.11 as the pound slipped against the dollar amid bets the reappointment of US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell will be the precursor to faster than expected rate rises across the pond.
Weakness in sterling helps boost the relative value of constituents' overseas earnings which dominate the index.
Online electricals retailer AO World plunged 25% to 93.2p after warning on profit as supply chain woes and rising costs to weigh on performance in the run-up to the key Christmas shopping period.
Reach slipped 6% to 283.8p even as the news publisher said revenue growth was currently ahead of full-year expectations following a recovery in digital advertising despite growth returning to a more normalised pattern in the second half of the year.
Construction company CRH rose 2% to £37.29 after saying it expected to deliver record performance for the full year, with core earnings expected to be well ahead of the prior year following growth in the nine months through November.
Pet supplies retailer Pets at Home climbed 6.2% to 489.9p after saying that annual profit was expected within the top end of market expectations following a jump in first profit as pet ownership continued to swell, boosting customer growth.
IT infrastructure technology and services company Softcat fell 0.8% to £19.06 reported year-on-year profit and revenue growth in the first quarter of the year as demand remained 'high.'
Bodycote fell 1.4% to 825.5p after trimming its outlook on annual revenue as expectations for a strong Q4 rebound automotive revenue wasn't expected to materialise.
Food services company Compass reported annual profit that more than doubled as cost cuts offset a fall in revenue owing to the due to the pandemic impact. It was up 2.8% to £15.14.