MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks made a bid for positive territory on Tuesday, but by a slim margin with support coming from oil and mining stocks and gains from Vodafone Grupo also adding to positive sentiment.
The U.K. FTSE 100 index (UK:UKX 4,412, +6.81, +0.16%) was up 0.28% to 4,418.98, after tumbling more than a percent on Monday.
U.S. markets finished Monday's session flat, owing to late selling of commodity and technology stocks.
Simon Denham, head of Capital Spreads, said the London markets were doing their best to recover from that spate of selling.
But the FTSE is having trouble with momentum moves, he said, noting it's been trying to get to 4,500, but only managing to hit the 4,450 mark, moving by just around 15 points a day.
"There is a new upward trend line forming from the lows of March which was confirmed at the lows yesterday (4365) and this may well define the move higher," he said.
Among oil stocks, shares of Tullow Oil (UK:TLW 981.00, +20.00, +2.08%) were up 1.6%, while BP (BP 51.35, +0.99, +1.97%) (UK:BP. 532.75, +7.75, +1.48%) rose 1.6%. Mining stocks were also higher with Eurasian Natural Resources (UK:ENRC 664.00, +8.50, +1.30%) up 2.5% and Xstrata (UK:XTA 715.50, +6.00, +0.85%) up 2%.
Shares of Vodafone (VOD 18.17, +0.12, +0.66%) were also higher, up 1.5%.
On the downside, Berkeley Group Holdings (UK:BKG 744.00, -86.00, -10.42%) dropped 9% to 750 pence. Citigroup on Tuesday began placing 15 million shares of Berkeley Group on behalf of the Saudi Saad Group at around 710 pence a share, according to London-based traders.
Traders suggested the Saudi conglomerate was selling a large chunk of its holding in the Berkeley Group -- a U.K. building developer, specializing in urban regeneration -- as it undertakes some new restructuring initiatives, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
