US traders were tentative on Wall Street as stocks across the pond tracked the trends seen across global markets.
The Dow Jones index edged 0.1% higher to 15,007, while the S&P 500 index rose by the same amount to 1,614.
The two big risers on the broader index were media company Gannett Co., the company that owns USA Today, and supermarket owner Safeway.
The former agreed to buy rival Belo in a deal that is worth $2.2bn, making Gannett he fourth largest owner of major network affiliates in America.
Belo shares jumped 27% on the news.
Supermarket owner Safeway meanwhile shot up 13% on the news it is selling its Canadian business for C$5.8bn to Empire Co., which already owns Canadian chain Sobeys. The company is to use the funds to pay down debt and buy back shares.
UK Markets
Stocks in London slipped, following a mammoth sell-off in Japan that saw the Nikkei 225 lose 6.35% on Thursday.
The Footsie fell for the fourth consecutive day, shedding 5 points to stand at 6,295 with state-backed lender RBS (LON:RBS) the biggest loser.
It shed 4% as investors digested the shock news that came after the close of day last night that Stephen Hester, CEO for the last five years, is heading for the exit.
He said he was making way for the bank to be “re-privatised”.
Shares crashed after it also emerged that not only is it losing its chief executive, but also about to embark on a jobs cull as well.
The lender is cutting 2,000 positions, bringing total job losses at the bank to 41,000 since the financial collapse of 2008.
The search for Hester's successor has already begun.
Other financial stocks were also down, with Aberdeen Asset Management (LON:ADN) dropping 1.1% and credit specialist Experian (LON:EXPN) losing 2.6%.
Investor sentiment was also stung by continuing uncertainty about central bank measures on stimulus and disappointing global growth forecasts.
Mike Van Dulken of Accendo Markets reckons the continued selling on the FTSE 100 has its roots in the stock market rally earlier in the year.
He said: “We still see this as a clean-up of an overdone rally from last November, giving short-term traders another chance should the index resume its 4 year recovery, but that’s not to say the downtrend is over. Falling highs have yet to be breached.”
In the junior sector, markets were also down. However, there were some small cap risers. Among them was Sefton Resources (LON:SER), which gained 10% after it confirmed that its oil production in California averaged 139 barrels per day in May.
The company said its oil production filed with the authorities for May totalled 4,333 barrels.
It said that steaming operations on certain wells have continued to support an improvement in production.
EMED Mining (LON:EMED, TSE:EMD) surged over 20% as it revealed it will increase the amount of copper to be sold from the Rio Tinto mine under off-take agreements.
Kefi Minerals (LON:KEFI) rose 3% as it said it has discovered another gold prospect at its Jibal Qutman project in Saudi Arabia.
The new find has been called 3K Hill and lies 3km north of current drilling at Jibal Qutman.
Baobab Resources (LON:BAO) shares were also up after it appointed Standard Chartered to help with the development of its iron project in Mozambique’s Tete region.
As part of the mandate, the bank’s corporate finance division will “assess a range of strategic corporate opportunities and financing alternatives”.
Shares in SolGold (LON:SOLG) were also lifted as the company said the amount of surface copper and gold mineralisation at the Alpala propect at SolGold's (LON:SOLG) Cascabel project in Ecuador continues to grow.
Results of channel sampling has increased the area to more than 400 metres by over 200 metres, the company said, adding that the drill hole locations had now been finalised for first stage drilling at the target.
Potash developer Sirius Minerals’ (LON:SXX) latest results from global scientific crop studies show that polyhalite is an effective fertiliser that outperforms traditional potassium chloride in both yield and quality.
The studies have included major crops such as corn, wheat, fruit, potatoes and onions and are taking place in key markets to better understand polyhalite fertilisers.
Shares dipped 1.9% to stand at 25.75p.
ValiRx (LON:VAL) shares edged lower after it agreed an expanded and adaptive protocol for its first-in-man studies on VAL 201, its drug candidate being developed for prostate cancer.