When the US Treasury Department clarified an expanded repurchase of US government bonds, Stockholm rose to a slight gain. But by the close, the broad OMXS index had slipped back and ended unchanged.
Among the heavyweights, defence group Saab fell the most, 1.8 percent. At the other end, measurement technology company Hexagon rose 4.4 percent after good news about expected profits at a partly owned Chinese company.
At the close in Stockholm, the London and Paris stock exchanges were up while Frankfurt had fallen slightly. In New York, all three major indexes were up.
A barrel of North Sea oil costs $92.3 after rising 1.3 percent during the day.
