The last 90 minutes of trading saw the top-share index engineer a turnaround and finish the day in the blue.
Resource stocks pulled out of their morning slump and in fact oil & gas group BG Group (LON:BG.) finished the day as the best performing blue-chip, while sector peer BP (ON:BP.) also closed higher.
The FTSE 100 finished the day up 20 points at 6,852 on a day when investors came to terms with the Greek election result.
The win for the left-wing group Syriza, led by Alexis Tsipras, has sparked concerns the party will go through with their pledge to reverse austerity and refuse to pay the country’s debts, setting it on a collision course with the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
British Airways owner IAG (LON:IAG) climbed 2.4% after Irish carrier Aer Lingus (LON:AERL) confirmed it has received a third takeover bid from the firm.
Utility SSE (LON:SSE) headed 1.6% higher after its third quarter trading update confirmed the full-year results are expected to be in line with expectations.
Shire (LON:SHP) hardened 1.1% as NPS Pharmaceuticals, which is in the process of being acquired by Shire, won US approval for Natpara, its treatment for hypoparathyroidism (low blood calcium levels).
On the downside, Coca-Cola HBC (LON:CCH) tumbled after Credit Suisse downgraded its earnings forecast for the bottler, prompting a cut in the Swiss bank's target price for the company.
Outside of the FTSE 100, Trans-Siberian Gold (LON:TSG) shot up 27%, after a fourth quarter production update revealed output was at its highest ever level over the quarter.
Akers Biosciences (LON:AKR) advanced 3.6% as it revealed it now has European patent protection for its blood separator and the methods it employs to split fluids from whole blood.
IGas Energy (LON:IGAS) was the day's worst performer, down 28%, as a report from a parliamentary committee cast doubt over the future of the shale gas industry in the UK.
Almost faring as badly was airline Flybe (LON:FLYB), which nosedived 26% after the budget carrier admitted missing out on the huge oil price windfall benefiting most of its rivals.
The company is committed to buying most of its fuel for this year and much of next at rates far above the current price.