U.K. stocks are trading in negative territory on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 down 0.37% at 9,216.66. Phoenix Group Holdings is down over 5% and Convatec Group is down 4.7% due to U.S. investigations. JD Sports Fashion is up 2% after announcing a £100 million share buyback program. On the economic front, UK retailers expect sales to decline further in October, with a balance of -43% for next month. Weak demand and U.S. tariffs are cited as contributing factors, according to the Distributive Trades Survey from the Confederation of British Industry.

Read more at Nasdaq: FTSE 100 Down 0.4% At Noon; Convatec Declines Sharply