London equities markets up on slow trading

The London equities markets were up on Tuesday as the FTSE 100 closed 0.3 percent higher at 4,898.5 and the FTSE 250 ended the day up 0.4 percent at 6,830.7. Trade was slow at only 2.8 billion shares.

Asset management group Schroders was one of the day’s leaders on higher-than-expected first quarter data and an announcement that it was considering “external investment opportunities.” Schroders rose 5.6 percent to 727p.

Amvescap, another group in the asset management sector that is also said to be looking for merger partners, was up 1.3 percent to 309 p.

Yell Group, a yellow pages publisher also rose substantially, on the news that it is expanding into the United States with the acquisition of TransWestern Holdings, which publishes directories in California and Texas, in a deal worth £829 million. Yell was up 4.3 percent to 415p.

The biggest winner on the FTSE 250 was PHS Group, the workplace services company, which was up 11.7 percent to 98p after it revealed that it had been approached with a bid offer.

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