The FTSE 100 got off to a mixed start on Friday, as Standard Chartered led the banks higher while gold miners came under pressure.
Overall, the FTSE 100 shed 3 points to sit at 8,659 about half an hour into trade.
Shares in Standard Chartered jumped close to 6% after it hiked its dividend and unveiled a new buyback on news of a one-fifth jump in underlying profit last year.
On the downside, Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo shed close to 2% each, giving back some of their recent gains on the buoyant gold price.
Europa Metals Ltd was among junior stocks surging, climbing 58% after a corporate update indicated that the company shares are trading well below their implied value.
And in other news, consumer confidence picked up in February in spite of ongoing concerns around the UK economy.
According to GfK, all core measures improved, signalling better sentiment towards the likes of personal finances and the general economic situation.
