FTSE 100 slips as Relx weighs; WPP, Persimmon gain after results

Aug 6 (Reuters) - The UK's FTSE 100 ended lower on Thursday, tracking losses on Wall Street, as investors weighed a fresh batch of corporate earnings including upbeat reports from housebuilder Persimmon and advertising group WPP.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index dipped 0.2% to end the session at 10,867.89 points. The midcap FTSE 250 climbed 0.2% to 24,695.41 points, rising for the fourth consecutive day.

• Information and analytics group Relx was among the biggest drags on the FTSE 100, falling 4.1% as software stocks retreated after AppLovin's revenue miss and Datadog's warning on revenue growth. Relx was also trading ex-dividend.

• Persimmon climbed 2.9% after the housebuilder forecast annual home deliveries at the top end of its range, while insurer Admiral jumped 5.4% after its first-half results and share buyback announcement.

• Among the midcap stocks, WPP soared 28.6%, on track for its biggest single-day percentage gain in more than three decades, after the ad firm said the trajectory had improved in recent months, even as it reported a 4.7% drop in first-half adjusted revenue.

• Investors are awaiting U.S. non-farm payrolls data on Friday for clues on the health of the labour market and interest rate trajectory.

• The downturn in Britain's construction industry eased in July as commercial building and housebuilding weakened less sharply, with builder optimism hitting its highest level since before the Iran war, a survey by S&P Global showed.

• Among other movers, real estate investment trust Tritax Big Box REIT dropped 4.1%, becoming the top decliner in the FTSE 100, after it placed a £350 million share sale at £1.64 a share.

(Reporting by Anand Gopal and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Andrew Heavens)