Markets were flat in mid-afternoon deals as investors tread water ahead of the Bank of England rate decision tomorrow and US non-farm payrolls on Friday. The FTSE 100 was down 0.30 points at 5522.20. The FTSE 250 was up 0.03% or 2.6 points at 9559.96. The DJIA was down 10.36 points, or 0.10%, at 10,561.66 and the S&P 500 was 1.21 points, or 0.11%, lower at 1,135.31. Latest jobs data showed the pace of job losses is slowing but left investors unmoved ahead of the much more closely watched data on Friday - which many expect to show the first fall in unemployment in the US for years. Here M&S led the fallers after a disappointing update as analysts suggest 2010 could be a difficult year for the group. The news also weighed on Home Retail, down 7.1p at 282.8p while Tesco shares were 6.9p lower at 413.6p after a Jefferies downgrade. But British Airways was higher, up 0.9p at 198.8p after it said there have been further signs of rising demand for its premium flights. The flag carrier said traffic was 4.2% lower than a year earlier in December.