London blue chips added 20 points as the final trading session of the year got underway.
The index had dropped 1.3% on Tuesday, snapping an eight-day winning streak, but was back up to 6,565 as the shortened session began.
Market sentiment was dampened slightly by the confirmation that manufacturing activity in China declined in December for the first time in seven months.
Meanwhile, many of the world’s markets are either shut or, like London, only trading for half a day, so business is expected to be low.
Old Mutual (LON:OML) was the top riser early on, adding nearly 2% while Legal and General (LON:LGEN) climbed 1.5%.
Hargreaves Landsdown (LON:HL.) and Aberdeen Asset Management (LON:ADN) both added 2%.
Shares in Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) added 80p to 4420p as gold held around US$1,200 an ounce.
Overall, though the FTSE 100 looks set to finish 2014 down 3% after starting 2014 at 6,749.
Compared to other global peers like the US S&P 500, up 12%, Shanghai Composite Index, 50% and Japan’s Nikkei 225, London’s share index has underperformed.
Oil and mining stocks, which are prominent on the FTSE 100, have remained weak.
Iron ore has dropped around 47% while Brent crude has declined 45%.
This has put the materials and energy plays under significant pressure; nullifying gains in other sectors.
Elsewhere today, shares in mid-cap intellectual property specialist IP Group (LON:IPO) advanced 3% after the firm made a million dollar investment into a University of Pennsylvania spin-out business that develops software to control small flying robots.
In the AIM world, Asia Resource Minerals (LON:ARMS) shot up 57% as it said has been successful in its legal proceedings against former director of the company, Rosan Roeslani.