The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.01%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 was also flat by 8:19 GMT.

British American Tobacco dropped 0.9% after the U.S. Supreme Court denied an emergency request to put on hold the ban on selling all flavoured tobacco products in California. The FTSE 350 Food, Beverage and Tobacco index lost 0.7%

However, energy stocks climbed 1.1% as supply challenges in the U.S. bumped up crude prices.[O/R]

Holiday Inn owner IHG rose 0.2% on promoting Michael Glover, to the role of chief financial officer starting March 2023, succeeding Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson.

Meanwhile, data showed that wage-growth rose by 6.1% in the month of October ahead of the Bank of England's rate hiking meeting on Thursday.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)