FTSE inches lower as 3i drop offsets Burberry surge

London's FTSE 100 edged lower on Thursday as a 9% drop in private equity company 3i and a handful of stocks trading ex-dividend overshadowed an earnings-driven surge in luxury brand Burberry. The main index shed 0.1% as 3i Group hit a five-month low after its first-half report and heavyweight components Sainsbury, Shell and GSK dragged as they traded without dividend entitlement.

Luxury brand Burberry, however, surged 8% as the popularity of designer Riccardo Tisci's collections boosted quarterly sales and offset declines in Hong Kong where trading was hit by ongoing protests. The mid-cap FTSE 250 was largely unchanged by 0810 GMT.