By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks seesawed between small gains and losses on Thursday as investors were waiting for a speech by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney later in the day.

The FTSE 100 index slipped 0.1% to 6,703.40, partly erasing a 0.5% gain from Wednesday. Most other European markets were on the rise, after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi reiterated that the Governing Council stands ready to "use additional unconventional instruments" to fight off low inflation. Economists expect the "unconventional" stimulus measures could be a full-scale quantitative-easing program.

Carney: The U.K.'s central bank will also be in the spotlight, with BOE boss Carney slated to speak in Wales in the afternoon. Sam Fox, analyst at Spreadex, said in a note that volatility in the pound should be expected during the speech as "investors speculate on his words." Generally, investors have been listening closely to comments from the BOE to try to gauge whether it will raise interest rates this year or wait until 2015.

Movers: Shares of Direct Line Insurance Group climbed 0.9% after the insurer said it's selling its international unit to Spanish insurer Mapfre SA for 550 million euros ($705.62 million) and will return the proceeds to shareholders.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) added 0.5% after the bank said its Chairman Philip Hampton will step down during 2015 to become GlaxoSmithKline PLC's (GSK) chairman. GSK shares were up 0.5%.

Shares of Ryanair Holdings PLC picked up 2.4% after the budget airliner raised its full-year passenger guidance and said profit would come in toward the top end of its previously guided range.

On a more downbeat note, shares of Hammerson PLC dropped 1.7% after the retail landlord said it will raise around 400 million pounds ($652.8 million) by issuing new shares to buy 40% of Highcross Shopping Centre in Leicester.

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