In addition, some investors are still looking to cash in some gains from the blue chips' eight-week surge in the autumn, and are uncertain whether Wall Street can stage its traditional holiday rally in the last two weeks of December.
And it came despite an uncertain start on Wall Street.
But the company faces a long and uncertain road, say Wall Street analysts.
Sentiment was not helped by an uncertain start on Wall Street after a mixed set of economic figures.
With an uncertain start on Wall Street ahead of the third quarter reporting season which begins tonight with Alcoa, the FTSE 100 was 29.08 points lower at 5108.90.
ALLTHINGSD Chesapeake Outlines Slew of Deals | Chesapeake Energy, the natural gas giant, is planning a series of asset sales that together are intended to raise about $7 billion, but the company faces an uncertain market, The Wall Street Journal reports.
After yesterday's 218 point decline to a five and a half year low, the FTSE 100 climbed 201.6 points to 4063.0 despite an uncertain start on Wall Street.
But as the day wore on, investors decided to take some profits, and with an uncertain start on Wall Street ahead of the US reporting season which begins later with Alcoa, the FTSE 100 came off its best levels to close up 3.83 points at 5538.07.
I believe America is in a crisis now, not only of corporate or governmental social responsibility, but of personal social responsibility; we're uncertain of whether Wall Street or Uncle Sam has our best interest at heart, but just the same we should be looking at our neighbor.
WALL STREET JOURNAL An Uncertain Path to Success on Wall Street | At a gathering of financial industry workers over the weekend, the prevailing mood among those just starting out in the business was one of confusion, New York magazine writes.
