In London on Monday, the FTSE 100 gained 0.67 percent to 6,076 and the FTSE 250 added 0.38 percent to 11,552.8.

Miners saw gains after JPMorgan Chase upped its target share prices on BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; ASX: BHP; NYSE: BHP) and Anglo American (LSE: AAL).

BHP, with its target share price hiked to £20.71, was 1.4 percent higher on the session to £18.68, while Anglo American jumped 3.3 added to £33.52 on a new target share price of £32.84.

Elsewhere in the sector Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ) gained 3.42 to £15.14, Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED) was up 3.43 percent to £22.30.

Over on the 250, Finland-based miner Talvivaara Mining Company (LSE: TALV) added 6.16 percent to 297.25p while Aquarius Platinum (LSE: AQP; ASX: AQP; JSE: AQP) had the best day on the 250 as it jumped 7.05 percent to £19.12.

The big losers on the session were house builders and property developers.

On the 100, Hammerson (LSE: HMSO) dropped 2.83 percent to £10.29 while Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV) was down 3.07 percent to 631p. Taylor Wimpey (LSE: TW) had the worst day on the 100, falling 3.56 percent to 230.5p.

Over on the 250, Daejan Holdings (LSE: DJAN) was 3.26 percent lower to £34.14 and Bovis Homes (LSE: BVS) dropped 3.43 percent to 634p.

In London on Thursday, the FTSE 100 was 1.38 percent higher to 6,724.5 while the FTSE 250 gained 0.96 percent to 11,622.9.

Commodities-related shares were higher on the session.

Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED) had the best day on the 100 as it added 5.8 percent to £23.17, while oil refiner and distributor Hunting (LSE: HTG) was the best performer on the 250 with a gain of 10.28 percent to 783p.

Elsewhere among miners, gold miner Randgold (LSE: RSS; NAS: GOLD) was 7.43 percent higher to £17.35 and Aquarius Platinum (LSE: AQP; ASX: AQP; JSE: AQP) jumped 9.42 percent to £18.47.

Back in the oil sector, Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW; OTC: TUWLY) was up 4.68 percent to 626.5p, while BG Group (LSE: BG; NYSE: BG) added 4.74 percent to 883p.

Among banks, Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) slipped again, dropping 5.67 percent to 258p for the worst performance of the session on the 100.

Meanwhile, the house building sector and property developers had a bad day after the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported that house prices were lower in the UK again in September.

Bovis Homes (LSE: BVS) was down 2.56 percent to 684p and Bellway (LSE: BWY) dropped 2.89 percent to £10.76.

Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV) was 3.54 percent lower to 722p, Persimmon (LSE: PSN) fell 4.02 percent to £10.03 and Redrow (LSE: RDW) was down 4.31 percent to 388.5p.

Taylor Wimpey (LSE: TW) fell 4.28 percent to 290.75p.

Equities markets in London declined Wednesday as the FTSE 100 was 0.56 percent lower to 6,109.3 and the FTSE 250 dropped 0.99 percent to 10,889.3.

UK banks followed European banks lower.

HSBC (LSE: HSBA; NYSE: HBC; Euronext: HSBC; SEHK: 005) was down 2 percent to 883.5p, while Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS; NYSE: RBS PRM) fell 2.2 percent to 561p after it said it won’t reduce its bid, in consortium with other banks, for ABN Amro (Euronext: AAB; NYSE: ABN) to reflect ABN’s lower value after a dividend payout.

Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN; SEHK: 2888) was 2.25 percent lower to £15.62, while Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) had the worst day on the 100 as it dropped 5.3 percent to 687.5p after it said it could miss its profits forecast.

Miners were lower as well after copper prices fell 1.2 percent in London to $7,329 per tonne.

BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; NYSE: BHP; ASX: BHP) was down 1.7 percent to £12.76, while Anglo American (LSE: AAL) was 1.9 percent lower to £27.25.

Housebuilders and property investors had a better day.

Persimmon (LSE: PSN) was the best performer on the 100 with a gain of 3.88 percent to £12.58, while Berkeley Group Holdings (LSE: BKG) topped the 250 as it added 4.67 percent to £16.14.

Bovis Homes (LSE: BVS) was up 4.07 percent to 805p, while Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV) was 2.77 percent higher to 945p and Hammerson gained 2.14 percent to £12.40.

On the other hand, property investors Quintain Estates & Development (LSE: QED) had the worst day on the 250 as it dropped 9.62 percent to 817p.

In London on Monday the FTSE 100 added 0.34 percent to 6,712.7, while the FTSE 250 dropped 0.16 percent to 11,847.8.

Most of the gains on the session were produced by the mining sector, which saw advances as copper prices remained strong and after JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) raised target share prices for several of the miners.

BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; ASX: BHP; NYSE: BHP) gained 1.78 percent to £15.43, while Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) was 2.71 percent higher to 681.5p.

Xstrata (LSE: XTA) added 2.88 percent to £33.60 and Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ) was up 4.21 percent to £13.60.

Other gainers included food processor Tate & Lyle (LSE: TATE) which added 4.69 percent to 580p for the best performance on the 100.

Housebuilders put in the worst performances of the session on both the 100 and the 250.

Persimmon (LSE: PSN) dropped 4.12 on the 250 to £11.64, while on the 100 Bovis Homes fell 10.86 percent to 820.5p.

Other decliners in the sector included Redrow (LSE: RDW), which was 5.36 percent lower on the 250 to 512p and Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV), which was down 2.32 percent to 991.5p on the 100.

The declines in the sector were blamed on caution in the face of higher interest rates.

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.

London equities markets were mixed on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.2 percent to 5,506.8, mostly on declines in the oil sector, while the FTSE 250 added 0.7 percent to 8,782.2. 3.3 billion shares were traded on the day.

Homebuilders were mixed on bids rumors. Crest Nicholson was up 3.6 percent to 505p on speculation that one of its rivals would purchase the 23.4 percent of its shares now held by Heron International. Bovis Homes was the most mentioned possible buyer, sending its shares 2.2 percent lower to 779½p. However, some analysts see either George Wimpey or Barratt Developments as more likely bidders for the shares. Wimpey added 2.7 percent on the day to 428½p, while Barratt gained 1.1 percent to 868p.

In the banking sector, Lloyds TSB added 2.4 percent to 515p on an upgrade to “overweight” and an increase to 611p in its target share price by Morgan Stanley.

Bid rumors in the pharmaceuticals sector sent AstraZeneca 2. 5 percent higher to £30.16 on a revival of talk that Novartis will make an offer. The feeling of some analysts is that these rumors have gained new currency due to the bidding war over German drug maker Schering.

In the oil sector, BP lost 1.3 percent to 586p. Royal Dutch Shell declined by 1.8 percent to £17.35, while BG Group was down 3.3 percent to 635p. Meanwhile, Tullow Oil dropped 2.3 percent to 300¾p even though rumor had it that Royal Dutch Shell might be planning a bid.

The London equities markets were lower on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 down 0.07 percent to 5,671.6 and the FTSE 250 dropping by a substantial 1.5 percent to 9,134.8. Trade was heavy at nearly 4 billion shares on the day. Homebuilders and the oil sector were both instrumental in the declines on both indexes.

In the oil sector, Cairn Energy dropped 4.2 percent to £20.69. Among mid-caps, Dana Petroleum dropped 6 percent to 917½p. Also in stocks related to commodities, miner Kazakhmys was down 3 percent to £10.94.

Among homebuilders, Persimmon dropped 4.4 percent to £11.48, while Taylor Woodrow lost 5.6 percent to 320½p and George Wimpey was down 4.3 percent to 436½p. Crest Nicholson dropped 3.2 percent to 320¼p and Bovis Homes was down 4.5 percent to 755p. A major factor in the sector’s declines was said to be reaction to the news that a member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee had voted to raise interest rates at the committee’s meeting this month.

Telecom BT Group added 8 percent on the day to 226¼p on a positive quarterly earnings report and predications that there is more growth to come.

Among losers, brewer SABMiller lost 3 percent £10.61 despite a strong full-year earnings report, when it warned of higher input costs and price declines in the US beer market.

The London equities markets were down on Friday at the end of a losing week. The FTSE 100 declined by 0.5 percent on the day and lost 1.7 percent this week to close at 6,023.1, while the FTSE 250 was down by 0.5 percent on the day and by 0.7 percent on the week to 9,878.7.

There were notable gainers on the day, however. In the banking sector, Standard Chartered added 2.9 percent to £14.56 after going as high as £15.17 earlier in the day on talk that Temasek of Singapore might buy more of a stake in the bank on top of the 11.5 percent it bought last month. Alliance & Leicester was also up on the day, by 1 percent to £11.23, on renewed bids rumors.

British Energy was up 0.7 percent to 662p after Lehman Brothers said that weakness in share prices in the sector due to declines in carbon dioxide prices were overdone.

Pharmaceuticals company GlaxoSmithKline added 1.6 percent to £15.56 on an upgrade from “equal weight” to “overweight” by Morgan Stanley.

Homebuilders were mixed on the day. Crest Nicholson gained 3.6 percent to 555p on bids talk, but Bovis Homes and Persimmon were both down, by 1.1 percent to £13.10 and 2.6 percent, also to £13.10.

Among losers, broadcaster BSkyB was down 0.9 percent on the day to 525½p on worries that it might be required to resubmit its bid for two licenses to carry English Premiership football.

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.