London's exporter-heavy FTSE 100 index opened lower on Friday, pressured by a stronger pound after data showed the UK's economy surprisingly grew higher-than-expected in the second quarter.

Data showed Britain eked out unexpected growth in the second quarter, helped by a strong June performance. It grew 0.2% in the second quarter, against the consensus for a flat reading in a Reuters poll of economists.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.6%, while the sterling broke three straight days of losses after the data.

"Any lingering fears that the UK economy is set to fall into a recession will likely have been put to bed now with these numbers," said Stuart Cole, chief macro economist at Equiti Capital.

The more domestically-focussed FTSE 250 index edged 0.2% down.

Miners dropped 1.1%, leading sectoral declines as metal prices fell. (Reporting by Siddarth S in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)