London's FTSE 100 struggled for direction amid the release of a raft of gloomy global factory data.

The FTSE 100 rose 10.9 points to 6072.5, following a more than 150-point rise in the previous session, as global equity volatility shows little sign of abating.

The market had been over 100 points higher in this session but was driven down by disappointing manufacturing data from the UK, the eurozone, China and the US.

Spreadex financial analyst Connor Campbell said: "The jubilant start to the fourth quarter proved to be as unwarranted as it always seemed, with a day full of dismal manufacturing data gradually wearing down even the most optimistic of investors."

France's Cac 40 and Germany's DAX were both lower. In New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average also opened lower.

In the UK, there were further signs of a slowdown in the manufacturing sector after a closely watched CIPS/Markit purchasing managers' index (PMI) survey posted a reading of 51.5 last month - where 50 separates growth from contraction. This is down from a revised reading of 51.6 in August.

It also said that employment in the manufacturing sector fell for the first time in two and a half years at the end of a "lacklustre" September.

In China, official figures showed manufacturing activity continued to contract in September, although it edged up slightly since a dire August.

Factory data from the US and the eurozone also failed to cheer investors.

The pound was little changed against the US dollar at just over 1.51, and was slightly up against the euro at just over 1.35.

Among stocks in London, the rebound from under-pressure commodities trader Glencore ground to a halt as it slipped 0.5p to 91p after rising strongly earlier in the session.

Although over the previous two sessions it has recovered much of the ground since its dramatic 29 per cent slump on Monday.

The Anglo-Swiss trader issued a statement on Tuesday and Wednesday assuring investors it was "operationally and financially robust" and pledging to slash its $30 billion (£19.8bn) debt pile by one third.

However, the stock is still down by more than two-thirds this year.

Other miners were lifted by the slightly better news from China, with Anglo American up 4.1p to 555p and BHP Billiton 24p higher to 1029p.

Oil stocks were also on the up, with BP rising 8.3p at 342.3p and Royal Dutch Shell climbing 38p to 1601p.

Chemicals giant Johnson Matthey was also a strong riser, up 20p to 2468p after it confirmed the completion of the sale of its Alfa Aesar Research Chemicals business to US rival Thermo Fisher Scientific for £256 million in cash.

Johnson Matthey said the disposal would allow it to focus on growth areas of its business.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were London Stock Exchange up 88p at 2507p, TUI up 33p at 1251p, BP up 8.3p at 342.3p and Royal Dutch Shell up 38p at 1601p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 Index were Centrica down 7.7p at 221.5p, Morrisons down 4.5p at 161.6p, Tesco down 5p at 178.3p and Vodafone down 4.2p at 204.3p.