Mining shares are giving some support to the UK market, but investors remain cautious ahead of a key Greek presidential vote.
If the parliamentary decision goes against prime minister Antonis Samaras, then snap elections are set to be called, which could see the anti-austerity party Syriza come to power, an event which would send shockwaves through the eurozone.
So despite US markets hitting yet new highs on Boxing Day, European markets are nervous.
However the FTSE 100 is currently 11.22 points higher at 6621.15, outperforming its peers elsewhere.
With gold and silver stable, Mexican precious metals miner Fresnillo is up 25p at 755p while Randgold Resources has risen 114p to £42.67.
Even though there are concerns about China, a key consumer of commodities, as a government think tank forecast a slowdown in the economy from 7.3% this year to 7% in 2015, mining shares have shrugged this aside. BHP Billiton is 39p better at £14.08 and Rio Tinto is up 64p to 2951.5p.
Elsewhere BG is 7.4p better at 888.6p as the gases group said it was preparing to deliver its first commecial liquefied natural gas cargo to China from its new Queenland Curtis project.
It was a day for companies going ex-dividend, with Burberry down 17p to £16.38 and BT 6.5p lower at 410.2p.
Lower down the market Victoria Oil and Gas has jumped nearly 14% to 56.75p after it signed an agreement to supply gas to two power stations in Cameroon.
Starcom has surged 89% to 11.375p as the remote tracking specialist announced it had been selected as an official partner to Porsche Zentrum Baden Baden, the largest Porsche dealership in Germany. Avi Hartmann, Starcom chief executive, said:
This new partnership is a significant milestone for us. Working with Porsche, one of the world’s leading luxury car brands, will hopefully increase Starcom’s brand and we truly believe this could be the recognition Starcom needs to become a major force in the European telematics market, allowing us to set the standard for vehicle tracking.
