(Close) London share prices rose slightly with the FTSE 100 share index up by just 36.23 at 6,843.13 points.
Shares in Associated British Foods (ABF) rose by 6% after annual results that were better than expected.
Income went up 5% to £13.4bn and pre-tax profits rose 5% to to £1.1bn. The firm said it expected to benefit from Britain's vote to leave the EU.
Shares in Marks and Spencer opened higher but fell back 5%.
The retailer announced plans to cut store numbers both at home and abroad.
M&S is closing 30 UK clothing outlets, converting dozens more into food-only stores, and shutting 53 international stores in 10 overseas markets.
The retailer also reported a sharp drop in half-year profits and a fall in underlying sales at both its clothing and food businesses.
"Closing the foreign stores makes sense as M&S never quite understood its customers outside the UK," said Neil Wilson at ETX Capital.
"[Chief executive Steve] Rowe wants to focus on Mrs M&S, the retailer's core customer, and this means doing its own version of Brexit by focusing solely on the UK market."
Shares in Imperial Brands fell 3% despite the cigarette maker reporting a near 10% rise in full-year revenues and a 10% increase in adjusted operating profit.
On the currency markets, the pound was down 0.2% against the dollar at $1.237, and was slightly lower against the euro at €1.1213.
- Published3 November 2016
