The FTSE 100 was little changed on Thursday after three days of gains, lagging Europe mainly because six major constituents including HSBC (-0.3%), Shell (-1.5%), BP (-0.9%), Rio Tinto (-4%), Unilever (-1.4%), and GSK (-1.6%) traded ex-dividend. Miners were also a drag, with iron ore down ahead of Chinese steel output data and Rio Tinto off 4%. Offsetting some losses, Admiral surged 5.6% after posting better-than-expected profit despite an 18-month slump in car insurance prices, and Aviva rose 2.4% as it reported strong operating profit growth, wealth division inflows, and progress integrating Direct Line. Meanwhile, stronger-than-forecast UK GDP data added to the Bank of England’s hawkish bias.