The FTSE 100 had a flat day on Friday as positive UK GDP data and slowing US inflation impacted investor sentiment. The UK economy grew by 0.7% in the first quarter, surpassing previous estimates of 0.6% growth [f51957c4]. This was a significant improvement from the 0.3% decline at the end of last year. Despite the positive GDP data, the FTSE 100 is on track to close the week down 0.6% [f51957c4].
Shares of sportswear giant Nike sank after the company issued a full-year outlook that missed expectations [f51957c4]. This led to a drop of over 4% in the stock price of JD Sports, which was heavily impacted by Nike's weak earnings report [f51957c4].
In the US, stocks had a relatively unchanged day on Thursday as investors analyzed fresh economic data ahead of an important inflation reading that will impact Federal Reserve policy. The S&P 500 rose by nearly 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by about 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite led the gains with a 0.3% increase [f51957c4].
Meanwhile, several leading banks in the UK experienced outages on payday, causing stress for workers who were unable to send payments or access online banking [f51957c4].