The FTSE 100 was broadly flat on Thursday as storming global equity markets looked set for a day of reflection as investors balance hopes of interest rate cuts with slowing growth.

London’s leading index was trading lower by 6 points at the time of writing.

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Markets are likely to trade headline to headline for the foreseeable future as investors weigh the potential benefits of interest rate cuts in the US and UK against the root cause of any rate cuts, that being spluttering US and UK economies.

Indeed, the UK released GDP figures on Thursday for the second quarter that showed the rate of growth slowing, albeit at a better rate than economists had predicted.

“Investors appear to be reassessing the path of interest rate cuts in the UK, after the economy snapped back to growth,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“It had been galvanised by the uplift in stocks around the world amid expectations that the US Federal Reserve will cut borrowing costs next month. But now a little more caution is creeping back in.”

The steady session for UK stocks followed another robust session in the US overnight, where the S&P 500 closed at another record high.

“Markets also drew impetus from the political front as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made an unusually direct call for a 50 bps rate cut at the next FOMC meeting, an intervention in monetary policy but being normalised somewhat,” said Ahmad Assiri Research Strategist at Pepperstone.

FTSE 100 movers

In the UK, investors were picking through mixed FTSE 100 corporate updates. Aviva and Admirial shares jumped on strong updates, while there was a more cautious reaction to an update from copper miner Antofagasta.

Admiral was the FTSE 100’s top gainer after increasing its dividend following a strong half year period. Admirial shares rose 5% as the group revealed profits soared a bumper 69%.

“In a competitive market, Admiral remains in the fast lane. The strength of its brand allows it to remain disciplined on price while still attracting new business. Admiral’s smart pricing tools have also helped to support underwriting profitability over time,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“The company is being rewarded for treating customers relatively well, at least in relation to its rivals, including during the pandemic. This is driving customer loyalty.”

Investors were also impressed by Aviva’s 30% increase in pretax profit for the first half and shares rose 3%.

Natural resources stocks were the biggest drag on the FTSE 100, with oil and copper notable commodities to drop overnight. BP shares were among the fallers again as hopes around the Ukraine conflict sent oil lower.

Antofagasta was flat despite reporting a 60% increase in EBITDA.

“Chilean copper miner Antofagasta has already enjoyed a strong run for its share price, which explains the relatively muted reaction to today’s solid first-half numbers,” Mould said.

“The company is benefiting not just from a robust pricing environment for copper but also from improved operational performance and increased production.”