London's FTSE 100 slips as energy stocks drag

LONDON: The UK's FTSE 100 slipped in early trading on Thursday, snapping a four-day winning streak as weakness in crude prices dragged oil stocks, while gains in homebuilders capped some losses.

The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 edged 0.1% lower, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 added 0.1% as of 0710 GMT. Concerns over a potential U.S. recession led to a fall in crude prices, pulling the energy sector down 0.7%.

Meanwhile, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Britain's economy failed to grow as expected in February but a bounce in January was stronger than thought earlier. Among single stocks, Tesco added 1.6% after Britain's biggest retailer reported its full-year profit in line with its guidance.

Imperial Brands fell 1.8% after the tobacco group said its revenue for the first-half of the year would be "slightly below" a year earlier figures. Homebuilders added 2.2% after the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) survey showed Britain's housing market continued to feel the pinch of higher borrowing costs in March, but expected some improvement over the year ahead.