Morning Markets - FTSE down ahead of US GDP data

The FTSE was down in early trading at 5311.91, representing a drop of 2.04 points (0.04%), ahead of US GDP data.

British Airways topped the leaders' board at 219p, up 3 points (1.39%) after the beleaguered airline revealed better-than-expected results for the first quarter, which was hit by disruption to European airspace from the volcanic ash cloud in April and cabin crew strikes in May and June.

Severn Trent was also up, trading at £12.96, up 16 points (1.25%) on the back of its announcement this week that trading for the quarter ended 19 July was in line with expectations throughout the period.

Miners did poorly, with both BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto falling, down 21.50 points (1.09%) to £19.56 and 29.50 points (0.88%) to £33.25, respectively.

The Dow Jones closed down on Thursday to finish at 10467.16, a drop of 30.72 points (0.29%), as investors tried to reconcile another round of conflicting economic signals.

Thursday's trading fits with the index's months-long pattern, with investors torn between upbeat earnings from companies and reports that point to an uncertain recovery.

A slight drop in first-time claims for unemployment benefits, combined with unease ahead of the first reading on US gross domestic product for the April-June quarter, to be released Friday, left investors uneasy.

Merck was the Dow's best performer, up 32 points (0.9%) to $35.06. Chevron also did well, climbing 46 points (0.6%) $76.02, as investors traded optimistically ahead of the company's quarterly earnings reports due Friday morning.

Kraft Foods and Procter & Gamble were hardest hit amongst the Dow components, hit by disappointing results from consumer companies, falling 0.61 points (2.05%) to $29.11 and 1.03 points (1.64%) to $61.67 respectively.

Elsewhere the Nikkei fell on Thursday shedding 57.25 points to close at 9,696.02, as weak orders for US durable goods and a downbeat take on the US economy from the Federal Reserve pushed stock markets lower.