By Francesco Canepa
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top share index edged lower early on Thursday, led by WPP (LONDON:WPP), the world's biggest advertising company, after a disappointing update.
Shares in WPP fell 2.3 percent after the company posted a slowdown in first-quarter like-for-like net sales, which traders said were more sluggish than anticipated.
"First take looks weak ... (and) implies a slowdown in February and March," a trader in London said.
The broader FTSE 100 index was down 0.3 percent at 7,005.92 points at 0814 GMT. The index has been struggling to make headway since hitting an all-time high at 7,119 last week.
Sentiment was dampened by a survey that showed private sector business growth in the euro zone, a key source of revenues for UK companies, was weaker than forecast this month.
Eleven FTSE 100 companies, including mining and commodity trading firm Glencore (LONDON:GLEN), went ex-dividend on Thursday, further weighing on the index.
Mid-cap set-top box maker Pace Plc (LONDON:PIC) surged 31 percent, however, after receiving a takeover offer from Network gear maker Arris Group Inc.
"The commercial and financial rationale of the deal makes good sense, with the only hurdle being gaining anti-trust clearance, which while likely is not certain," analysts at Numis wrote in a note, upgrading the stock to "neutral" from "sell".
Bookmaker William Hill fell 3.6 percent after posting a 19 percent fall in first-quarter operating profit, hurt by additional tax charges and the impact of its worst ever sports betting week.
Electronics distribution company Premier Farnell (LONDON:PFL)'s rose as much as 7 percent after Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "neutral", describing it as the "logical share to own ... for pure dividend yield".