The London equities markets were lower on Friday, with the FTSE 100 down 0.2 percent to 6,149.5. The FTSE 250 dropped 0.1 percent to 11,556.4. Only 2.6 billion shares traded hands in a day of light trade. Despite the slow day and the declines, the 100 added 0.6 percent over the full week and the 250 was up 0.3 percent over the five sessions.

The retail sector saw gains. After an upgrade from “sell” to “buy” from Societe Generale, Kingfisher added 3.5 percent to 259½p. The broker also raised Kingfisher’s target share price to 342p. Next gained 1.8 percent to £20.93, also on an upgrade. Goldman Sachs raised its rating on the clothing retailer from “neutral” to “buy”, calling it a consolidation target.

Caterer Compass gained 0.9 percent to 312p after issuing a positive trading update.

Amvescap was 1.5 percent higher to 632p after it said it was thinking about changing its primary lisitng to the US. The fund manager, which is in process of changing its name to Invesco, does the vast majority of its business in North America. Citigroup said that if Amvescap does switch its listing, share prices could go up. Currently its share price is around 20 percent lower than US rivals such as T Rowe Price.

In the media sector, Gcap Media dropped 9.9 percent to 217p after UBS placed 13.6 million shares of the owner of Capital Radio for an institutional client at a price of 225p. That number of shares represents 8.2 percent of the company.

The London equities markets were mixed on Friday and closed out the week lower than they began. The FTSE 100 was 0.01 percent lower on the session and 2.1 points lower on the week to 6,155.2, while the FTSE 250 added 0.1 percent Friday but lost 43.1 points over the week to close at 10,356.5.

Banks were lower, with Lloyds TSB down 1 percent to 562½p, while Northern Rock dropped 1.2 percent to £11.76 on the news that the Office of Fair Trading has recommended that the Payment Protection Insurance market be looked at by the Competition Commission. Both Lloyds and Northern Rock make from 14 to 18 percent of their profits from PPI commissions.

Among other losers, PartyGaming was 7.2 percent lower to 29p on a disappointing trading update, while in the semiconductors sector Wolfson Microelectronics fell to 279p on a profits warning.

Ladbrokes added 2.6 percent to 401¼p and 12 million shares changed hands on rumors that a private equity group would make a bid. Still in the leisure sector, Intercontinental Hotels Group was 2.5 percent higher to 997p.

Amvescap gained 1.6 percent to 614p on positive comments from Deutsche Bank. Meanwhile, media group Pearson was up 0.9 percent to 784½p.

London equities markets were higher on Tuesday due to advances in a wide variety of sectors. The FTSE 100 added 0.7 percent to 6,072.7, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.9 percent to a new high of 10,244.5.

Asset managers had a good day as Schroders added 4.2 percent to £10.04, Amvescap gained 5.3 percent to 629p, and Man Group was 8.2 percent higher to 478p. Amvescap benefited from the news that the funds under its management have gone up from $428.9 billion in August to $440 billion in September. The September figure was a full $2 billion higher than some estimates.

In the telecommunications sector, Vodafone added 2.6 percent to 120¼p on an upgrade to “outperform” by Bernstein Research, which also set a target share price of 155p for the telecom company.

The oil sector was higher on gains in exploration companies despite another drop in crude oil prices. Premier Oil advanced by 4.5 percent to £11.70, a record high. Dana Petroleum, rumored to be interested in Premier, added 6.4 percent to £12.62. Tullow Oil and JKX Oil & Gas were both 6.1 percent higher, to 391p and 290p respectively.

Plumber and building materials company Wolseley added 3.9 percent to £12.11 on positive comments from JP Morgan concerning US homebuilders. Wolseley gains around 60 percent of its revenues from the US market every year.

Among losers on the session, Shire dropped 4.6 percent to 961p as investors decided that its 15 percent advance on Monday was out of proportion to the news that the drug maker had gained approval for its hyperactivity drug, NRP 104, for use in the United States.

The London equities markets had another slow day, with only 2.3 billion shares traded. Still, both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 saw gains on the day. The 100 added 0.5 percent to 5,897.9, while the 250 was 0.6 percent higher to 9,359.6.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Shire was 0.7 percent higher to 888p on the news that it has reached a settlement with Barr Laboratories that will keep Barr from marketing a generic version of Shire’s attention deficit disorder drug Adderrall until 2009. Adderrall accounts for about 50 percent of Shire’s sales.

Homebuilders were also up on the session as rumors of consolidation within the sector circulated. Bellway gained 1.8 percent to £11.95, while Barratt Developments added 2.3 percent to 951½p and Bovis Homes was 2.4 percent higher to 811p.

In the telecommunications sector, Carphone Warehouse advanced by 3 percent to 263¾p amid rumors that a private equity company had offered 330p per share for the company.

Man Group was 2.2 percent higher to 415p, while Amvescap added 2.3 percent to 517½p as fund managers benefited from the notion that weaker than expected data out of the United States would make it more likely that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates at their current level rather than increasing them at its next meeting.

The FTSE 100 ended the day 0.9 percent higher on Thursday, at 5,929.5. It was the fourth day of gains in a row for the blue-chip index, during which time it has gained 3.6 percent, or over 210 points. The FTSE 250 was also up on the day, gaining 0.8 percent to 9,362.

Earnings reports in several sectors helped stocks to advance. Rolls Royce added 5 percent to 442¾p on better than expected half-year results that had Numis Securities raising the target share price on the airplane engine manufacturer from 475p to 525p. Fund manager Amvescap also was higher, by 4.1 percent to 522½p, after releasing its quarterly report. Retailer Kingfisher added 3.5 percent to 244¾p, while Centrica was up 0.1 percent to 292¾p.

But not all advances on the day were related to earnings reports. SAB Miller added 1.5 percent to £10.44 on a strengthening of the South African rand. The brewer makes a substantial amount of its money in South Africa.

Miners were up on higher copper prices and on upgrades from UBS. Kazakhmys was up 6.4 percent to £12.61, while Antofagasta gained 4.8 percent to 416½p and Vedanta Resources added 4.7 percent to £13.21. Xstrata was 5.2 percent higher to £21.41 on the news that it will purchase another 5 percent of Canadian nickel producer Falconbridge, for which it has made a bid.

In the pharmaceutical sector, AstraZeneca was 3.3 percent lower to £13.75 on a disappointing outlook statement that was issued along with its quarterly report.

In London on Monday the FTSE 100 was 2 percent higher, to 5,833.9 as quarterly reports continued to come in. The 100 as a whole was helped by the news that US hospital chain HCA is being purchased by a consortium that includes Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts for $21 billion. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 also saw gains, closing the day at 9,223.5.

Vodafone gained 3.6 percent to 115¼p when it announced that revenues grew by 4.5 percent in the first quarter. Even so, its head in Europe will leave as revenues in German and Italy were down.

In the online gaming sector, PartyGaming seemed to be attempting to recover from last week’s losses by adding 8 percent to 104½p.

Plumber Wolseley added 3.1 percent to £11.12 when it said it has purchased DT Group, a Nordic building materials supplier.

Amvescap said it would buy the private equity group owned by US investor Wilbur Ross, sending its shares up by 4.8 percent to 481¾p.

Bids rumors sent Whitbread 6.1 percent higher to £12.44 after it was said that Starwood Capital had an offer ready. The news spurred Panmure Gordon to reconfirm its “buy” recommendation and 1370p target share price on Whitbread.

On the losing side, GCap Media fell 7.5 percent to 197½p on an announcement of revenues lower than expected in the March through June quarter.

London’s equities markets came back from Monday’s holiday to major losses. The FTSE 100 declined by 2.4 percent to 5,652.0 while the FTSE 250 lost 2.9 percent to 9,235.5.

Shares in companies that depend on the US dollar for a large part of their earnings were especially vulnerable as the greenback continued to weaken. Among those losers were asset manager Amvescap, which declined by 4.2 percent to 408p; plumbers Wolseley, down 5 percent to £12.02; and building materials group Hanson, which lost 5.6 percent to 642p.

The insurance sector also saw losses. Prudential was down 4.3 percent to 576½p, while Old Mutual declined by 4.9 percent to 163½p.

Miners were down on the day even though metals prices were relatively stable. Copper miner Kazakhmys had the worst of it, dropping 4.6 percent to £10.85.

Gainers on the day included airport operators BAA, which added 6.4 percent to 873p after it said it had rejected a 900p per share offer from Spanish construction company Grupo Ferrovial. Amid mid-cap gainers was EMI Group, which was up 1.3 percent to 273¼p on rumors that US music group Warner Music might bid for the UK music company. In addition, Morgan Stanley upgraded EMI from “underweight” to “equalweight”.

London equities markets were down substantially on Friday, with the FTSE 100 seeing its worst day in two years, dropping 2.2 percent to 5,912.1 and the FTSE 250 falling even more, by 2.6 percent to 9,811.8. The declines were a result of sell-offs in commodity and energy related stocks. The continued weakness of the US dollar was also a factor in declines in some sectors.

In the energy sector, BG Group dropped 3.6 percent, while British Energy declined by 2.9 percent to 665p.

Among miners, some losses were substantial. Mid-cap gold miner Randgold lost 11.6 percent to £11.96. Anglo American was down 4.8 percent to £24.25, while Antofagasta dropped 4.4 percent to £24.42. Rio Tinto declined by 4.2 percent and Kazakhmys was down by 4 percent to £13.35.

Fund managers were mixed, with those with substantial US exposure among the losers. Amvescap was down 3.4 percent to 571p. Man Group lost 2.4 percent to £25.28. Among gainers in the sector, Schroeders added 2.5 percent to £11.56 on an upgrade from “hold” to “buy” from Citigroup, which set its target share price at £12.80.

The weakness of the greenback in relation to sterling hurt companies that earn part of their revenues in dollars. Engine maker Rolls-Royce dropped 3.9 percent to 443¼p, while chemical company ICI was down 1.7 percent to 384½p.

In London on Wednesday the FTSE 250 went above 10,000 for the first time although it ended just below that level at 9,997.6, a gain of 0.3 percent on the day. The FTSE 100 also added 0.3 percent on the day to close at 6,104.3. The 100 benefited from gains in the financial sectors, while homebuilders helped the 250 into record territory.

There were declines on the day, however. British Energy dropped 4.6 percent to 682p after the price of European carbon dioxide emission credits dropped. And EMI was down 0.95 percent after recent gains when Merrill Lynch said that the benefits of a possible merger with US company Warner Music has now been incorporated into its share price. EMI closed at 285¾p.

Among financial companies, fund management group Amvescap gained 8.7 percent to 624p on a much better than anticipated first-quarter earnings report. Among banks, Lloyds TSB added 1.5 percent to 532p on a comment from Deutsche Bank that its dividend could increase next year, along with a reiteration of its “buy” recommendation and its 610p target share price.

Homebuilders were up on more rumors of mergers. Crest Nicholson was up 3.4 percent to 532½p on speculation that Bovis Homes Group is interested in buying the 23.3 percent the company currently owend by Heron International. Bovis added 0.3 percent to 908p on the talk.

Carphone Warehouse gained 5 percent to 338¾p after it’s house broker upgraded it to “outperform” and raised its target share price to 420p, a rise of 68 percent. It figures that the company’s recently launched bundled internet/phone service could increase profits by a significant amount in the next few years.

The London equities markets were up on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 gaining 0.2 percent to 5,965 and the FTSE 250 gaining 0.9 percent to 9,729.0.

Asset managers had a good day on positive comments about the sector from Morgan Stanley. Aberdeen Asset Management gained 6.9 percent to 186p, while Amvescap advanced by 4.2 percent to 550p. Elsewhere in the sector, Deutsche Bank issued an initial “buy” rating and set a 440p share price target on New Star Asset Management, which gained 6.8 percent on the day to 402¾p.

Utilities were up on high electricity prices. British Energy gained 3.9 percent to 646p, while International Power was up 1.1 percent to 277p and National Grid added 0.9 percent to 603½p.

In the retail sector, Woolworths gained 4.1 percent to 37¾p after rumors circulated that the Reuben Brothers have been buying shares in the company.

Insurer Prudential was up 0.9 percent on the day to 609½p on talk that there might be a bid for it soon and ahead of an earnings report due Thursday.

BP gained 2.2 percent to 665p and over 180 million shares in the company were traded after an analyst’s comments that it would be better off if it were to separate its upstream and downstream components.