Footsie reversed earlier losses to end up slightly on Thursday - a day dominated by events across the pond.
Lawmakers have now agreed a temporary deal to end the government shutdown and extend the debt ceiling so that a default on payments did not occur.
As the Dow Jones was trading around 52 points down, FTSE 100 ended its session up four points, or 0.07% at 6,576.
It came as sentiment was buoyed by positive retail sales data in the UK, showing a 1.5% rise in Q3 compared to Q2.
Brewing giant SABMiller (LON:SAB helped bolster the UK's bluechips and it was among the top five gainers.
Shares in the Peroni and Grolsch brewer added 4.18% after some encouraging sales from emerging markets.
City analysts had voiced their concerns over a slowdown in sales from developing countries, where SABMiller makes most its money.
But the company shrugged off the fears on Thursday, toasting the performance of Latin America despite unrest in Colombia and an excise increase in Peru.
The increasingly important African markets fared well, with net producer revenue up 11% on an organic basis.
Total beverage volumes grew by 2% on an organic basis, with lager volumes up 1% and soft drinks volumes rising 5%.
The podium however was given over to pay-TV heavyweight BSkyB (LON:BSY), which was the top riser, up 5.01%%, after its forecast-beating results.
There was strong growth across all products and customer numbers rose 9% year-on-year.
“We have made a very good start to the year. Strong growth across the board drove a 7% increase in revenues and we added 50% more new subscription products than last year as customers continued to respond to the quality and value we offer,” said Jeremy Darroch, chief executive of the satellite TV operator.
On the mid-cap index, hedge fund manager Man Group (LON:EMG) was up 3.56% after it posted its first net inflows in two years.
Net inflows in the third quarter reached $700mln, comprising sales of $4.1 billion and redemptions of $3.4bn, while funds under management (FUM) at 30 September 2013 stood at $52.5bn (30 June 2013: $52bn).
In small caps, Wasabi Energy (LON:WAS, ASX:WAS) powered up 11.11% to 0.36p as its Turkish geothermal expansion plans were validated by some impressive numbers from its pre-feasibility study.
A financial draft of plans at the Tuzla Geothermal Power Project showed an indicative net present value (NPV) of A$142mln, an internal rate of return (IRR) of 57% and EBITDA (underlying earnings) of A$19.6mln.
The study was based on the installation of one of its 30 megawatt Kalina cycle units, which turns excess heat back into energy.
Other significant risers included Antrim Energy (LON:AEY), which was up 23.53%, Atlantic Coal (LON:ATC) gained 17.14%, Shaft Sinkers (LON:SHFT) rose 20.78%, and vending machine specialist SnackTime (LON:SNAK), which climbed 12.90%.
Among the losers was GEONG International (LON:GNG). It fell 13.89% but is still up around 130% since last month.