U.K. stocks were little changed on Wednesday as hopes for a Sino-U.S. trade deal continued to build and Italy said that Britain's planned exit from the European Union next month would hopefully not be "brutal" or "divisive".
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is heading back to Brussels, Belgium to meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, in a bid to renegotiate her Brexit deal with the bloc.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was marginally higher at 7,186 in opening deals after declining 0.6 percent in the previous session.
Footasylum shares plunged 10 percent after larger rival JD Sports Fashion Plc increased its stake in the company to more than 18 percent. JD Sports Fashion was half a percent lower.
Glencore rose half a percent on reports that it plans to cap global coal production.
Lloyds Banking advanced 2.8 percent after reporting a rise in FY18 pre-tax profit.
Sainsbury slumped over 15 percent after the completion watchdog raised a catalogue of concerns over its merger with Asda.
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