Slow London markets mixed on session

London markets saw the slowest trading day so far this year on Thursday as the rest of Europe took the day off to celebrate May Day.

The FTSE 100 ended the session unmoved at 6,087.3 while the FTSE 250 was 0.49 percent lower to 10,073.

Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region were also closed for holidays, but markets in Tokyo and Australia remained open and both saw declines.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.6 percent to 13,766.86 while the Topix index fell 0.92 percent to 1,346.1 and the Mothers market of small and mid-caps dropped 1.04 percent to 604.57 while in Australia the S&P/ASX200 was 0.17 percent lower to 5,585.8 and the Sydney Ordinaries dropped 0.08 percent to 5,652.7.

Wall Street saw gains in early afternoon trade, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.09 percent to 12,960.01 as the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.29 percent to 2,468.08 and the S&P 500 was 1.2 percent higher to 1,402.24.

Oil and metals prices were lower, while grains prices were also down in afternoon trade.

The pound and the US dollar both gained on the euro, while the dollar strengthened versus the pound.

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