London stocks dipped in early trade on Wednesday as investors mulled an unexpected increase in UK inflation and looked ahead to a speech by US President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
At 0850 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 10,121.05.
Trump is due to deliver a speech at Davos at around 1330 GMT to discuss the Greenland dispute.
Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group said: "Trump's rhetoric indicates unwavering determination regarding Greenland, but market participants remain hopeful this could be a calculated bluff aligned with his 'Art of the Deal' methodology.
"Many are looking to his highly anticipated Davos speech later today, hoping for a possible softening in his stance."
On home shores, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed inflation rose by more than expected in December, after a jump in tobacco prices and airfares.
The consumer price index rose by 3.4%, up from 3.2% in the 12 months to November. Consensus had been for a more modest rise, to 3.3%.
Alcohol and tobacco prices jumped by 5.2%, up from 4.0% a month previously, following a recently-introduced increase in excise duty. That rise usually comes through in November, but this year fell in December following the later-than-usual Budget.
Airfares, meanwhile, were affected by the timing of return flights over Christmas and New Year.
Rising food costs, particularly for bread and cereals, were also an upward driver, however, up 4.5%. Prices had risen by 4.2% in November.
Including housing costs, the CPIH rose by 3.6% in the 12 months to December, up from 3.5% in November.
The December print is the first rise in CPI for five months.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that from a market perspective, the CPI "doesn't materially shift the narrative, with a February rate cut effectively off the table".
He added: "The picture looks more encouraging in April when another cut is expected, as inflation could fall sharply towards the 2% target with regulated price increases coming in lower than last year."
In equity markets, heavily-weighted miners were among the top performers after Rio Tinto reported a bumper fourth quarter. Iron ore production from Pilbara and total copper output beat analysts' estimates to reach new records, as the company met or exceeded full-year guidance across all major product groups.
Burberry shot to the top of the FTSE 100 as the luxury fashion brand said comparable retail sales rose 3% in the third quarter, which was an improvement on the 4% decline seen in the same period a year earlier.
Educational publisher Pearson was on the front foot after saying it will kick off a new £350m share buyback programme, half of which will be repurchased by the middle of May.
JD Sports gained after it held annual guidance as fourth-quarter like-for-like sales fell 1.8% with a return to growth in North America - the retailer's biggest market - offset by a weak performance in the UK and Europe amid a volatile consumer environment.
Haleon was boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' at HSBC, while Premier Foods rose as the Mr Kipling and Oxo owner lifted its full-year profit outlook after strong Christmas trading.
Currys advanced as the electricals retailer said that full-year profit was set to beat market expectations after "very strong" trading over the peak Christmas and new year period.
Quilter rallied as it reported record quarterly core net inflows of £2.4bn, while Elementis rose after it said trading in the three months to the end of December was "marginally ahead" of full-year expectations.
On the downside, credit-checking firm Experian fell despite posting a 12% increase in third-quarter revenue, while Admiral was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'sell' at Goldman Sachs.
Wetherspoons slumped as it warned that first-half profits were likely to be lower than the comparable period in the previous financial year and that its full-year trading outcome was set to be "slightly below" that achieved in FY25. The company said costs had been higher than expected.
Fellow pub group Mitchells & Butlers also lost ground.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,121.05 -0.06%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,009.53 0.23%
techMARK (TASX) 5,837.59 0.07%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,281.50p 5.13%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,533.00p 3.47%
Pearson (PSON) 968.00p 3.20%
Entain (ENT) 693.00p 2.97%
Diageo (DGE) 1,671.50p 2.51%
Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 42.33p 2.36%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,317.00p 2.28%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 80.00p 2.20%
Haleon (HLN) 380.60p 2.06%
easyJet (EZJ) 486.50p 1.99%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Experian (EXPN) 3,069.00p -4.90%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,806.00p -1.94%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 100.75p -1.61%
Barclays (BARC) 471.90p -1.61%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,813.50p -1.33%
Relx plc (REL) 2,969.00p -1.33%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 643.80p -1.23%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,040.00p -1.17%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,267.00p -1.09%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,467.00p -1.01%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Currys (CURY) 133.20p 6.22%
Premier Foods (PFD) 178.80p 5.67%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 4,372.00p 3.90%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 122.50p 3.81%
Quilter (QLT) 193.10p 2.99%
Elementis (ELM) 170.00p 2.91%
Victrex plc (VCT) 713.00p 2.59%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 972.00p 2.21%
Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited (BSIF) 69.50p 2.21%
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 153.80p 2.19%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 688.50p -6.71%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 253.00p -3.44%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 301.20p -2.84%
Utilico Emerging Markets Ltd (DI) (UEM) 272.00p -2.51%
Chemring Group (CHG) 523.00p -1.69%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 517.50p -1.33%
Ashoka India Equity Investment Trust (AIE) 248.50p -1.19%
Trainline (TRN) 205.00p -1.16%
RIT Capital Partners (RCP) 2,175.00p -1.14%
Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 107.80p -1.10%