FTSE edges lower after Aberdeen AM hit by outflows

By Alistair Smout and Liisa Tuhkanen

LONDON (Reuters) - FTSE 100 edged lower on Thursday, hit by weak earnings reports from Aberdeen Asset Management and SSE, Pearson rallied after it said it had agreed to sell the FT Group to Japan's Nikkei.

Aberdeen Asset Management tumbled 7.6 percent, touching its lowest levels in over a year after the emerging markets-focused fund manager said it saw net outflows of 9.9 billion pounds ($15.5 billion) in the last quarter.

"Management blames 'market conditions and FX movements' and 'low margin outflows from certain fixed income products' for a large proportion of the decline," said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo.

"Furthermore, the outlook looks little to get excited about."

SSE, Britain's second-biggest energy supplier, dropped 5 percent after saying it expected lower profits from its retail business this year.

Britain's FTSE 100 was down 12.33 points, 0.2 percent lower at 6,655.01 at the close.

Among gainers, Pearson was up 2.1 percent after Japan's Nikkei publishing group agreed to buy the FT Group, which produces the Financial Times newspaper, from the British publisher for 844 million pounds ($1.3 billion) in cash.

"This transaction will be a positive move for Pearson even though they would be selling a strong asset and brand," said Atif Latif, director at Guardian Stockbrokers.

"Pearson can focus on the educational side of the business that has been struggling and look to start to manage that more efficiently."

Unilever rose 1.6 percent after it reported higher-than-expected quarterly sales, driven by gains in its home and personal care units.

Kingfisher also gained on results, rising 2 percent after Europe's largest home improvements retailer posted stronger sales growth in both Britain and France in its latest quarter, helped by soft comparative figures in the previous year.

Shire ended a see-saw session up 3.2 percent. Although it fell after reporting earnings that were below expectations, it recovered in afternoon trade having raised its full-year outlook.

The FTSE hit new two-week lows, extending falls from the previous session after a poorly received earnings report from Apple hit tech stocks while weaker metals prices dragged down miners.

Chipmaker ARM Holdings was the top gainer on the blue-chip index on Thursday, up 4.6 percent as it recovered from the more than two-year lows hit on Wednesday after the disappointing forecast from Apple, which is a major customer.

(Editing by Ralph Boulton)