Britain's FTSE edges lower after Aberdeen Asset hit by outflows

* FTSE 100 down 0.1 pct

* Pearson rises after sells FT Group to Japan's Nikkei

* Unilever, Kingfisher see improved sales (Recasts, adds detail, quote)

By Alistair Smout and Liisa Tuhkanen

LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index edgedlower on Thursday hit by weak earnings reports from AberdeenAsset Management and SSE, although the market got support latein the day from a rise in Pearson after it said it hadagreed to sell the FT Group to Japan's Nikkei.

Aberdeen Asset Management tumbled 7.2 percent,touching its lowest levels in over a year after the emergingmarkets-focused fund manager said it saw net outflows of 9.9billion 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 alarge proportion of the decline," said Mike van Dulken, head ofresearch at Accendo.

"Furthermore, the outlook looks little to get excitedabout."

SSE, Britain's second-biggest energy supplier,dropped 4.9 percent after saying it expected lower profits fromits retail business this year.

Britain's FTSE 100 was down 4.40 points, 0.1 percentlower at 6,662.94 by 1430 GMT, outperforming Germany's DAX, down 0.5 percent.

Among gainers, Pearson was up 2.4 percent afterJapan's Nikkei publishing group agreed to buy the FT Group,which produces the Financial Times newspaper, from the Britishpublisher for 844 million pounds ($1.3 billion) in cash.

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

"Pearson can focus on the educational side of the businessthat has been struggling and look to start to manage that moreefficiently."

Unilever rose 1.6 percent after it reportedhigher-than-expected quarterly sales, driven by gains in itshome and personal care units.

Kingfisher also gained on results, rising 1.8percent after Europe's largest home improvements retailer postedstronger sales growth in both Britain and France in its latestquarter, helped by soft comparative figures in the previousyear.

The FTSE remained hit new two-week low, extending falls fromthe previous session after a poorly received earnings reportfrom Apple hit tech stocks while weaker metals pricesdragged down miners.

Chipmaker ARM Holdings was the top gainer on theblue-chip index on Thursday, up 4.6 percent as it recovered fromthe more than two-year lows hit on Wednesday after thedisappointing forecast from Apple, which is a major customer. (Editing by Hugh Lawson)