British blue chips edged lower this afternoon, although investors targeted retailers after a number of takeover bids in the sector and a surge in retail sales.
Chemicals firm ICI also beat the market trend. It rose 2.2 per cent after Lehman Brothers upgraded the stock to "overweight" with a price target of 220 pence, nearly 70 per cent above current levels.
The FTSE 100 index was down 6.1 points at 3,981.3 by 1357 GMT, while on Wall Street the Dow Jones fell 0.48 percent.
Technical analysts said the British market was not yet prepared to push higher after its 20 per cent recovery from March's eight-year low.
Retailers numbered among top blue-chip gainers, encouraged by a recent spate of bid activity, including offers for Selfridges and Debenhams, and news that British retail sales surged 4.8 per cent in April.
Marks & Spencer logged the biggest rise among FTSE 100 stocks, up 3.8 per cent; Dixons and GUS added some 1.6 per cent each.