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

"Furthermore, the outlook looks little to get excited about."

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

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

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

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

"Pearson can focus on the educational side of the business that has been struggling and look to start to manage that more efficiently."

Unilever rose 1.6 percent after it reported higher-than-expected quarterly sales, driven by gains in its home and personal care units.

Kingfisher also gained on results, rising 1.8 percent after Europe's largest home improvements retailer posted stronger sales growth in both Britain and France in its latest quarter, helped by soft comparative figures in the previous year.

The FTSE remained hit new two-week low, extending falls from the previous session after a poorly received earnings report from Apple hit tech stocks while weaker metals prices dragged down miners.

Chipmaker ARM Holdings was the top gainer on the blue-chip index on Thursday, up 4.6 percent as it recovered from the more than two-year lows hit on Wednesday after the disappointing forecast from Apple, which is a major customer.

(Editing by Hugh Lawson)

By Alistair Smout and Liisa Tuhkanen