London’s top markets finished lower despite clawing back ground during a stronger afternoon trading session.
Stocks in the City were firmly lower early on after fears grew once again that the US could enter a recession.
However, the markets recovered ground after lower than expected jobless claims in the US helped to boost confidence around traders and pushed the main US markets higher.
The FTSE 100 finished 21.91 points, or 0.27%, lower to end the day at 8,144.97.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: “The buyers have taken control of the session this afternoon thanks to a fall in weekly jobless claims in the US.
“This week’s data was better than expected, helping the cause of those that will argue last week’s payrolls were more a one-off than the beginning of a sustained trend.”
Across the Channel, higher-than-expected Siemens profits helped guide the German Dax higher on Thursday.
The Cac 40 in France ended 0.26% lower and the Dax index was up 0.29% at the close.
Meanwhile, sterling recovered further ground after declines in the previous two trading sessions.
The pound was up 0.37% at 1.274 US dollars, and was up 0.53% at 1.167 euro.
In company news, betting firm Entain made strong gains after it slashed its losses and upgraded its outlook.
The Ladbrokes and Coral owner said work to improve its financial performance was “bearing fruit” as it also benefited from football scores during the Euro 2024 tournament.
Shares in Entain were up 5.1% at 550p at the close.
Housebuilder Persimmon was also in the green on Thursday after it said it has already seen a pick-up in activity over the summer amid Labour’s planning reforms.
The company told shareholders it is on track to build about 10,500 homes this year, at the top end of previous forecasts amid strong momentum.
Persimmon was up 2.8% to 1,581.5p as a result.
Elsewhere in the sector, Barratt and Redrow both dipped after the UK’s competition regulator said local competition concerns around Whitchurch in Shropshire need to be addressed for the firms’ £2.5 billion merger to be successful.
Barratt shares were down 0.8% to 517p, while Redrow was down 0.5% to 732p.
Spirax shares came under pressure after the steam valve specialist said some weakness in core markets and currency headwinds led to a dip in sales over the first half of the year. It saw shares fall 7.4% to 7,900p.
Beazley was 10.7% higher at 705.5p after the insurance firm saw profits surge by more than double over the first half of 2024.
The price of oil picked up throughout the session as improved trading sentiment translated to energy markets.
A barrel of Brent crude oil was up by 0.64% to 77.63 US dollars (£60.94) as markets were closing in London.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Beazley, up 68.5p to 705.5p, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, up 152p to 1,992p, Entain, up 26.6p to 550p, Persimmon, up 43p to 1,581.5p, and Rightmove, up 14p to 532.4p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Spirax, down 635p at 7,900p, United Utilities, down 44p at 967.8p, BT group, down 5.45p at 130.45p, JD Sports, down 3.35p at 122.6p, and WPP, down 16p at 687p.