The FTSE 100 finished slightly up on Monday after hitting a one-month high earlier in the day, but reversing most of its gains later.
London’s blue-chip index rose 25.59 points, or 0.31%, to end the day at 8,312.89.
The index rose in the morning after news that house prices made a surprisingly strong jump in November to sit just 1% below an all-time high.
The average UK house price rose by 1.2% month-on-month in November, according to Nationwide Building Society, which was the biggest increase since March 2022.
Chris Beauchamp an analyst at trading platform IG, said: “The FTSE 100 briefly surged to a one-month high today, but a dearth of major news meant that the gain could not be sustained.
“It has been a day of diverging fortunes for European markets – the FTSE 100’s flat session sits between an ebullient Dax, which hit a new record high and a Cac40 that is being pulled first one way and then another by the growing political crisis in France.”
At the end of the day in Europe, Frankfurt’s Dax index rose 1.44%, while the Cac 40 in Paris rose 0.025%.
In New York a little while after markets had closed in Europe, the S&P 500 had risen 0.26%, while the Dow Jones was 0.25% lower.
On currency markets, the pound was trading 0.49% down against the dollar at 1.2639 and was 0.06% up against the euro at 1.2052.
In company news, shares in Vauxhall-owner Stellantis tumbled following the sudden departure of its boss Carlos Tavares, just days after the carmaker announced plans to close its Luton factory.
Paris-listed shares in the car giant slumped more than 6% on Monday after the announcement on Sunday that Mr Tavares had quit after nearly four years in the top spot.
His resignation from the world’s fourth-largest carmaker – which also owns brands including Jeep, Fiat, Peugeot and Chrysler – comes two months after a profit warning as the group has continued to struggle with slumping sales.
Last Thursday, the company also announced plans to shut its Luton van-making factory next April, putting more than 1,100 jobs at risk.
In oil news, Brent Crude Futures were down 0.28% to 71.64 US dollars at the close of trading.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Howden Joinery, up 22.5p to 838.5p, Rolls-Royce, up 14.4p to 573p, Spirax, up 170p to 7340p, BAE Systems, up 28p to 1255p, and Beazley, up 16.5p to 793p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Vistry, down 25.5p to 630.5p, B&M European, down 9.1p to 337.8p, Unite Group, down 20p to 862p, British Land, down 7.4p to 381.4p, and DCC, down 100p to 5625p.