Stocks in London slipped 0.01% to 4,243 as bankruptcy proceedings for US auto giant Chrysler began in New York and the US released mixed data on manufacturing on a May Day holiday.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones and Nasdaq were both flat at 8,168 and 1,717 respectively by 5.20pm.
Economic reports provided conflicting signals on a possible recovery for the ailing US economy, the world's largest, now in its 18th month of recession.
The troubled US manufacturing sector contracted in April for a 15th consecutive month, the Institute of Supply Management said, but the pace of decline was less severe than most analysts projected.
The US Commerce Department also reported factory orders fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.9% in March, in line with expectations after a surprise February increase that had snapped a six-month decline.
Earlier, Hong Kong was closed, while in Tokyo the Nikkei ended 1.7% higher at 8,977.
There was share trading on the Irish Stock Exchange today as most continental European markets are closed for the May Day holiday. That meant the electronic system which operates trading in euro was closed. The exchange is also closed on Monday for the bank holiday.
