FTSE steady despite Schroders slump

Strong results from Debenhams pushed UK peer Next to an early 107p, or 7.46%, gain to £15.42, while Marks & Spencer Group advanced 19.75p, or 6%, to 349p. At shortly before 9.30am, the blue-chip index had dropped eight points, or 0.2%, to 4,022, reversing an earlier five-point gain. Fund management giant Schroders fell more than 26p, or 3.24%, to 790.5p after revealing its profit before tax fell to £36.1m in Q1 from £77.9m in the same period last year. The asset manager also said funds under management at March 31 fell to £103.1bn from £110.2bn at the end of December 2008. Elsewhere...