In London on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.49 percent to 6,132.2 and the FTSE 250 added 0.91 percent to 10,891.9.

Hotels and restaurants operator Whitbread (LSE: WTB) had the best day on the 100 as it added 3.47 percent to £16.12.

The gains came on news that revenues were up 6.6 percent in the six months ending 16 August and were 8 percent higher in its fiscal second quarter.

Water utilities were right behind. Severn Trent (LSE: SVT) was 2.84 percent higher to £13.42, while Kelda Group (LSE: KEL) added 3.15 percent to 852p.

Insurers were mixed, however, with Standard Life (LSE: SLET) up 2.11 percent to 290p but Aviva (LSE: AV) down 0.99 percent to 698p.

Property developers and house builders were down on the session. Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV) fell 0.66 percent to 905p, while Persimmon dropped 0.77 percent to £11.55.

Beverage can manufacturer Rexam (LSE: REX), down 1.35 percent to 511p had the worst day on the 100.

The worst performer on the 250 was in the financial services sector, where Bluebay (LSE: BBAY) was 4.76 percent lower to 395p.

PartyGaming (LSE: PRTY) had the best day on the 250, where it gained 23.08 percent to 28p after a more than 7 percent decline Tuesday.

The London equities markets were lower on Monday, with the FTSE 100 dropping 0.5 percent to 6,126.8 and the FTSE 250 falling 0.4 percent to 10,308.6.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Shire dropped 2.8 percent on the session to 940p on profit-taking. Shire is up 45 percent on the year so far.

Wolfson Microelectronics dropped 3.9 percent to 292¼p after McCall, Aitken, McKenzie, a new broker, advised its clients to sell after Wolfson’s rally last week. Elsewhere in the semiconductors sector, ARM Holdings fell 3.5 percent to 109p in anticipation of its third quarter report, due later in the day.

Insurers were higher. Aviva added 0.2 percent to 771p and Prudential, which rebuffed an Aviva bid earlier in the year, gained 1.7 percent to 641p on analyst sentiment that it remains vulnerable to a bid after recent weak data. Many believe that Aviva is still interested. Elsewhere, Standard Life gained 1.6 percent to 287½p on media reports that Axa of France could be interested in bidding for the life assurer, even though analysts were not convinced.

Hanson added 2.3 percent to 727½p on ABN Amro’s repeat of its “buy” rating and £10.60 target share price. The building materials group had dropped 4.4 percent on Friday.

The London equities markets were down for the day on Friday and over the week as a whole, with the FTSE 100 dropping 1 percent during the day to 5,707.6, a decline of 3.1 percent during the week. The FTSE 250 was down even more, falling 1.1 percent to 9,076 during Friday’s session for a total loss of 3.8 percent this week.

After dropping as low as 690p during the week, Aviva closed 0.7 percent higher on Friday at 695p. The earlier losses came as investors were unhappy with the life assurer’s purchase of AmerUS for £1.6 billion. The worry was that it would be the beginning of a series of US acquisitions, although Aviva’s chief executive said that the present deal satisfied the company’s goals in the United States. Merrill Lynch upgraded Aviva to “buy”, saying that the deal was advantageous for the company.

The mining sector was lower as Rio Tinto dropped 3 percent to £27.25. Vedanta Resources saw declines as well, falling 0.2 percent to £13.33. JP Morgan raised Vedanta’s target share price from £18.25 to £19.65 based on its exposure to both copper and zinc as well as its growth.

British Airways was 2.4 percent lower to 346½p as oil prices continued to rise due to increasing political tensions in the Middle East. The same price hikes sent BP 0.3 percent higher to 643p.

London equities markets were mixed again on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 0.5 percent lower to 5,652.3. The FTSE 250 was just slightly higher, up 0.02 percent. Trade volumes were low once again, with 2.5 billion shares changing hands as investors delayed moves until after the US Federal Reserve meets later in the week.

SAB Miller, which has been declining largely due to weakness in the South African rand, managed to gain 1.2 percent to 934p on a “buy” recommendation from Deutsche Bank, which said that despite currency issues the brewer is showing strong performance.

In the utilities sector, Centrica added 0.7 percent to 271p after ABN Amro repeated its “buy” recommendation on the stock and maintained its 321p target share price for the owner of British Gas.

The insurance sector was mixed, with Prudential up 0.5 percent to 567p as investors saw it as vulnerable to an approach after its 23.6 percent decline since it declined an offer from Aviva in March. Aviva declined by 0.2 percent to 737½p.

Miner Xstrata was down by 2.6 percent to £19.04 on concerns that it could increase its offer for Falconbridge. Phelps Dodge said Monday that it will buy the Canadian nickel miner.

In London on Friday, the FTSE 100 closed up 1.7 percent to 5,655.2, while the FTSE 250 added 2.4 percent to 9,024.7 on a volume of 2.6 billion shares traded. Despite the gains, the 100 closed out the week 1.9 percent lower overall, while the 250 lost 4.5 percent during the week.

Banks contributed to Friday’s gains, with an upgrade from “underweight” to “neutral” from Merrill Lynch, which said that with global economies growing and inflation under control, banks continued to be in a growth phase. HSBC added 1.2 percent to 934p, Royal Bank of Scotland was up 2.6 percent to £17.86, HBOS gained 3.1 percent to 965p on positive comments from Credit Suisse, and Northern Rock advanced by 3.8 percent to £10.05.

Miners also did well. Among the blue chips, Xstrata added 4.3 percent to £18.93 and Anglo American was up 4.9 percent to £19.36. Mid-caps also saw advances, as Lonmin gained 6.4 percent to £23.90, while Vedanta advanced by 7.2 percent to £12.05.

In the insurance sector, Aviva added 2.3 percent to 729½p on rumors that hedge funds were looking at the company’s shares. Meanwhile, fund manager Man Group advanced by 2.7 percent to £23.42 on an upgrade from “overweight” to “buy” from Bridgewell Securities.

The equities markets in London were lower on the day, with the FTSE 100 dropping 0.4 percent to 6,083.4 and the FTSE 250 declining by 0.3 percent to 10,108.6. Part of the declines were accounted for by a general lack of interest ahead of a new interest rate decision by the US Federal Reserve.

The retail sector was strong on the day. Electricals retailer DSG International added 7 percent to 207¾p for the biggest gain in the FTSE 100 on the day after it said that profits for the fiscal year to be higher than had been expected due to better sales in the second half of the year. Elsewhere in the sector, GUS added 1.6 percent to £10.71 and Next was up 2.3 percent to £17.66. Helped by bids rumors, Kingfisher added 2.1 percent to 243½p.

Among insurers, Prudential added 1.2 percent to 660p on rumors that rival Aviva was interested in a merger, based on a set of answers to “frequently asked questions” issued at Aviva’s annual meeting of shareholders. Analysts pointed out, however, that Takeover Panel rules stipulate that Aviva cannot offer another bid until September unless the two companies mutually agree to a deal. Aviva was down 0.3 percent on the day to 802p.

There were declines in the oil and pharmaceuticals sectors. BP dropped 1.2 percent to 674½p, while GlaxoSmithKline was down 1 percent to £15.40.

The London equities markets were up on the day Friday and on the week as a whole, largely on substantial gains in the properties sector. The FTSE 100 was up 0.7 percent on Friday and gained 0.6 percent for the week as a whole to close at 6,036.3, the second time this week that it closed above the 6,000 mark. The FTSE 250 was up 0.8 percent on the day and gained 0.9 percent on the week, closing at 9,929.9. Friday’s trading volume amounted to 3.8 billion shares.

Banks were up on the same changes to real estate investment rules that helped the properties sector. Royal Bank of Scotland was up 1 percent to £18.67, while Anglo Irish Bank gained 1.4 percent to €13.44.

Among insurers, Prudential was down 4.8 percent to 681p when Aviva withdrew its bid for the company. However, Aviva reserved the right to renew its offer if another bid for Prudential materialized. This, some analysts said, meant that Aviva was prepared to mount a hostile takeover push. Aviva was up 1.2 percent to 831½p.

In the telecommunications sector, mobile phone operator Vodafone was down 1.4 percent to 125½p in anticipation of a change in European Union regulations on international roaming charges. Elsewhere the sector, Telent was up 2.1 percent to 408½p and Spirent added 8.3 percent to 48¾p as news that Lucent and Alcatel might merge helped the sector as a whole.

London equities markets were lower on Thursday as the FTSE 100 slipped back below the 6,000 level, closing down 0.3 percent to 5,990.1. The FTSE 250 dropped 0.1 percent to 9,865.6. Volume amounted to 3.8 billion shares traded.

Miners were up on the day. Anglo American gained 3.1 percent to £20.78 after it announced that it will double its previously announced share buy-back. This news helped the rest of the sector, and BHP Billiton was up 2.3 percent to 991p.

The retail sector was generally down. Clothing retailer Next dropped 3.7 percent to £16.62 on the news that like-for-like sales dropped by 8.9 percent during the first seven weeks of its fiscal year. Woolworths was down by 0.7 percent to 36¾p on a downgrade from “hold” to “sell” from Deutsche Bank.

Insurer Prudential dropped 0.7 percent to 715½p on concerns that a predicted bidding war for the company would not take place. Rival Aviva, however, gained 0.3 percent to 822p after rumors persisted that it was ready to up its bid for Prudential, made last week.

Supermarket operator Wm Morrison dropped 6 percent to 197½p after it announced a cost-cutting plan after posting the first annual loss in the history of the company. Analysts were not impressed by the plan as outlined.

British Airways ended the session flat at 360¾p on uncertainties over whether unions would approve the airline’s scheme to lower its current large pension deficit.

The London equities markets were down on Monday as the FTSE 100 dropped 0.1 percent to 5,991.7 and the FTSE 250 declined by 0.3 percent to 9,815.0.

Once again, bids and rumours of bids drove trade on the day. In the insurance sector, Prudential was up 10.6 percent to 743½p after it rejected a bid from Aviva, hoping to start a bidding war. Aviva lost 0.2 percent to 848½p after the rebuff. Elsewhere in the sector, Friends Provident gained 2.2 percent to 218¼p, Legal & General gained 0.9 percent to 144¾p, and Royal & Sun Alliance closed 0.4 higher to 140p after losing earlier gains.

BG Group was up 1.2 percent to reach a record share price of 709p on rumors that a major company, perhaps ExxonMobil, would bid on the gas utility.

Homebuilder Crest Nicholson added 4.6 percent to 570½p, for a total gain of 18 percent in a week, after it was said that it could be the target of a bid, perhaps from Bovis Homes. Bovis discounted the rumors.

MFI Furniture was up 0.2 percent to 102¾p despite broker surprise that it has put on 56 percent since last month due to rumors that it might sell its Howden joinery division. Despite the gains, broker Seymour Pierce confirmed its “sell” recommendation and left its target sha

In London on Friday, the FTSE 100 broke the 6,000 level for the first time in five years, rising to 6,044.0 at one point in the day before easing back to close at 5,999.4, up 0.1 percent higher on the day and 1.6 percent higher for the week. The FTSE 250 closed at another all-time high on Friday, gaining 0.3 percent on the day and 4.4 percent on the week to close at 9,845.9.

Bid rumors and actual deals drove the equities markets during the week. Vodafone ended the day down 0.9 percent to 129p even though it reached agreement to sell it’s Japanese unit to Softbank for £8.9 billion. Body Shop, conversely, gained 10.4 percent to 296p on news that it had made a deal with L’Oreal.

Prudential gained 7.1 percent to 672p. The insurer is seen as a bid target for both Axa of France and Aviva. Aviva was up 2.8 percent to 850½p. Another bid target, banker Lloyds TSB, was up 1.1 percent to 551p after new rumors that a US company is interested.

Airport operator BAA dropped 1.2 percent to 828½p after it rejected a bid of 810p per share from Spain’s Grupo Ferrovial.

In the utilities sector, BG Group gained 1.4 percent to 700½p as rumor had a bid coming soon to the gas company.