The FTSE 100 was lower on Thursday as investors prepared for a raft of vital US economic data set for release on Friday.

US PCE – one of the Fed’s key indicators of inflation – is set for release tomorrow alongside spending data. The instalments have the potential to set the tone for trade deep into next week.

There have been jitters in global stocks this week as investors asses just how long it will be until major central banks cut rates and provided a welcome boost to households and businesses.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.25% at the time of writing.

Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown, says the slow session for the FTSE 100 “follows a relatively choppy trading session in the US, ahead of President Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s closely watched debate in Atlanta later today. There’s also news of a marked slowdown in China’s industrial profits for May, adding fuel to concerns over a protracted slowdown in this important economy.”

Downbeat news from China inevitably weighed on the commodities sector which played a leading part in the weakness on Thursday.

“The FTSE 100 struggled to find direction as strength in energy and banking stocks was offset by weakness in pharmaceuticals, tobacco and mining,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

GSK was the top faller after the US narrowed its age recommendation for the use of RSV vaccines. The development is the latest blow for investors who have recently been hit by news of cancer litigation in the US.

GSK shares were down over 5% on the day and have nearly erased all its gains for the year.

BP was marginally higher amid reports it was rolling back its push into clean energy by stepping down the pace of hiring.

“Reports suggest BP’s chief executive Murray Auchincloss is set to water down the company’s energy transition further and put a freeze on hiring,” Russ Mould said.

“Having replaced Bernard Looney, who unveiled the company’s net zero strategy to some fanfare at the start of 2020, Auchincloss had some space to make a more aggressive move in this direction.

“Poor recent share price performance had also put him under some pressure to take radical action with a diminished BP at risk of falling prey to a larger predator.”

BP shares were 0.9% at the time of writing.

The FTSE 100 was firmly on the front foot on Wednesday morning after a US technology stock rally helped boost global equity sentiment. However, the gains diminished as the session progressed, taking the index into the red.

London’s leading index was 0.1% down at the time of writing.

‘An uptick in confidence has sent the FTSE 100 higher, after US tech staged a rebound, particularly the chipmaker Nvidia. Fears of a big imminent market wobble are now receding,” said Hargreaves Lansdown’s Susannah Streeter.

After Nvidia briefly became the world’s largest company by market cap, the chip maker shed around 10% at the end of last week raising fears of frothy valuation in AI-related stocks. Such is the size of Nvidia, any volatility in the price can move the S&P dramatically and sparked a wave of risk aversion.

However, a sharp rebound in the stock yesterday and further buying in the US premarket has dispelled fears of an imminent meltdown.

There was a notable risk-on tone in trading in UK stocks on Wednesday morning, with cyclical sectors at the forefront of Wednesday’s rally. Miners Glencore, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto, and Anglo American were having a good session. These gains ebbed as the session progressed.

Burberry rose over 1% despite RBC cutting its price target to 1,100p. Easyjet was the top faller, declining 1%.

Legal & General

Legal & General shares were among those trading in the red after HSBC downgraded the stock to hold. HSBC analysts slashed their price target to 260p from 310p citing disappointment with the company’s recent capital strategy announcement and future dividend growth.

“L&G’s new strategy and financial targets were (like its share price performance) underwhelming, and below our expectations. We see it as no longer offering a relatively attractive profile versus peers,” contributing HSBC analysts wrote in a note.

“L&G’s 9.3% normal dividend yield and 10.7% total capital return yield for 2024e might be attractive on an absolute basis, but not on a relative basis in our view. We see its UK peers offering either faster DPS growth over 2023-26e or a higher starting DPS yield for 2024e. Meanwhile the introduction of share buybacks by L&G (GBP200m in 2024) to potentially offset its lower DPS growth rate may not be sustainable for the long term.”