The FTSE 100 has finally ended its long-running winning streak after poor economic data from the States dampened stocks by the close of trade on Thursday.Markets were relatively rangebound for most of the session today, teetering around a five-and-a-half-year high of 6,700 following 10 consecutive days of gains.However, stocks slipped into the red after US housing starts dropped sharply in April, the Philly Fed manufacturing index swung into negative territory in May, and jobless claims surged last week. Nevertheless, losses were only in the single digits by the close as stronger-than-expected growth in Japan and hopes for more stimulus in Europe were acting to support markets."Despite the poor economic data investors remain comforted by the fact that central banks remain ready in the back ground to catch any sign of a dropped ball, which means each dip continues to remain a shallow one," said Michael Hewson, a Senior Market Analyst at CMC Markets.Japanese gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at the fastest rate in a year during the first quarter of 2013, showing that newly-appointed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's new policies aimed at boosting growth are paying off, though this is partly because the yen has weakened substantially since aggressive monetary easing began. The Asian powerhouse registered an annualised GDP expansion of 3.5% and grew 0.9% quarter-on-quarter, beating consensus estimates of 2.8% and 0.7%, respectively.Meanwhile, investors yesterday chose to look on the bright side of poor GDP data from the Eurozone as it sparked hopes that the European Central Bank would look to kick-start growth in the single-currency region. Eurozone GDP shrunk by 0.2% in the first quarter, worse than the 0.1% fall expected.FTSE 100: Aviva impresses with first-quarter updateAviva, the insurance group which surprised the market in March with an unexpected cut to its dividend, said this morning that it is delivering on its turnaround strategy, causing shares to jump early on. New business was up 18% in the first quarter, while operating expenses were down 10% and debt was reduced by £300m.Leisure firm TUI Travel was also higher after German parent TUI AG reiterated this week that it has no plans to merge with the UK company. TUI AG did say however that it is looking to boost co-operation with TUI Travel.Part-nationalised lenders RBS and Lloyds were both in demand after Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday hinted that the government would be ready to reprivatise the companies next year. Daniel Stewart upgraded both stocks to 'buy' this morning.RBS was also in the news on plans to axe a further 1,400 jobs from its retail banking head office to slash costs. The bank will reduce its headcount over the next two years with Edinburgh offices expected to take the biggest hit.Heading the other way was Primark owner and food group AB Foods, falling in sympathy with European sugar firm Suedzucker which warned about lower profits in the sugar industry, a market that the FTSE 100-listed firm is heavily exposed to.Petrofac was also in the red after saying that operations at its In Salah project in Algeria would restart in the second half following a terrorist attack in January. The company said it expects modest growth in net profits this year.Utilities group National Grid failed to excite the markets with a solid increase in full-year profits. Analysts at Societe Generale said this morning that the share-price debate is now "more focused on valuation than earnings" after a strong rise so far this year.Telecoms group Vodafone edged higher after revealed that it is to offer high-speed fixed-line broadband and internet TV services in Germany through a new collaboration with German telecoms giant Deutsche Telekom.FTSE 250: Thomas Cook jumps after cutting losses, capital restructureTravel agent Thomas Cook was flying high after cutting its half-year loss before tax from £584m to £391m and unveiling a £1.6bn plan to reorganise its capital structure.Dixons Retail, the electrical retail, got a lift after it posted a 10% rise in fourth quarter total growth, up four per cent for the full year as a whole.New World Resources plummeted after saying that first-quarter revenues dropped by almost a third in what has been an "extremely difficult" period for the miner.Shares in chemicals company Synthomer also dropped as it said that demand in Europe was weaker than anticipated during March and April, driving the overall group performance lower.FTSE 100 - RisersAviva (AV.) 346.50p +7.24%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 318.80p +3.84%TUI Travel (TT.) 368.80p +3.77%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 276.70p +2.86%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 60.91p +2.59%William Hill (WMH) 447.00p +2.55%Wood Group (John) (WG.) 820.00p +2.31%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,470.00p +2.28%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,902.00p +2.12%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,450.00p +1.90%FTSE 100 - FallersAssociated British Foods (ABF) 1,925.00p -5.22%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,077.00p -3.84%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 795.00p -3.75%Polymetal International (POLY) 633.50p -3.21%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,325.00p -2.72%Evraz (EVR) 155.10p -2.51%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,262.00p -1.64%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 861.50p -1.43%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 1,386.00p -1.42%Rexam (REX) 530.00p -1.40%FTSE 250 - RisersThomas Cook Group (TCG) 164.10p +13.41%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 40.00p +9.56%Inchcape (INCH) 564.50p +7.22%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 242.00p +6.61%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,604.00p +6.15%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 142.10p +5.97%Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 399.10p +5.81%AZ Electronic Materials SA (DI) (AZEM) 323.00p +5.25%Persimmon (PSN) 1,206.00p +5.14%Ted Baker (TED) 1,420.00p +4.18%FTSE 250 - FallersNew World Resources A Shares (NWR) 106.40p -17.00%Synthomer (SYNT) 208.00p -7.56%3i Group (III) 345.80p -4.84%IP Group (IPO) 140.10p -4.69%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 133.60p -4.02%Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 992.00p -3.69%Marston's (MARS) 146.90p -3.61%Petropavlovsk (POG) 130.80p -3.40%Savills (SVS) 581.00p -3.17%Kentz Corporation Ltd. (KENZ) 389.50p -2.62%BC
Last checked at 
