The FTSE 100 was little changed; Sainsbury’s, BP from Reuters

(Reuters) – Blue chips were flat on Friday, weighed down by losses at Sainsbury’s after its largest shareholder reduced its stake in the supermarket chain, while BP (NYSE: ) fell in while warning on third-quarter profit.

Sainsbury’s fell 4.2 percent, the biggest decliner on the FTSE 100, after the Qatar Investment Authority tried to sell 306 million pounds ($399 million) worth of shares.

British oil major BP fell 0.4 percent after it said weak refining margins would hurt its third-quarter profit by up to $600 million.

The FTSE 100 was little changed at 0752 GMT, on track for a second straight week of declines.

Stocks were underwhelmed by data that showed Britain’s economy expanded in August after two straight months of no growth.

Economic output rose 0.2% month-on-month in August, in line with economists’ expectations, and was likely to reassure Finance Minister Rachel Reeves ahead of the new Labor government’s first budget.

“The bottom line is that the economy still appears to be growing at a reasonable pace, but the 0.6/0.7% quarterly GDP readings we’ve become accustomed to in the first two quarters of the year will not be repeated in the second half of of the year. year”, said James Smith, economist at ING.

The average cap rose 0.1 percent, but was also heading for a weekly decline.

Jupiter Fund Management fell 1.2% after reporting a fall in assets under management with outflows of £1.6bn in the third quarter.

Saga rose 9.6% after it said Belgian insurer Ageas is in exclusive talks to set up a 20-year motor and home insurance broking partnership with the British over-50s holiday group.