London’s equities markets were lower Wednesday.

The FTSE 100 dropped 1.72 percent to 6,250.6, while the FTSE 250 fell 1.26 percent to 11,194.9.

Cadbury Schweppes (LSE: CBRY; NYSE: CSG), with a decline of 8.23 percent to 569p, was the worst performer on the 100 after it
said that profitability was down in the first half due to higher dairy prices.

British Airways (LSE: BAY; NYSE: BAB) was down 2.89 percent to 386.25p after it was fined nearly £270 million for price fixing activities in relation to fuel surcharges.

Miners were substantially lower. Lonmin (LSE: LMI) fell 3.65 percent to £33.76, while Xstrata (LSE: XTA) was 3.88 percent lower to £30.74, BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; NYSE: BHP; ASX: BHP) dropped 4.41 percent to £14.08 and Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) was down 4.46 percent to £34.45.

There were gains on the day.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Shire (LSE: SHP; NAS: SHPGY) added 1.56 percent to £12.37, while chemicals group Imperial Chemical Industries (LSE: ICI) gained 0.56 percent to 627.5p on reports that Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW; TYO: 4850) is interested in making a bid to rival that of Akzo Nobel (Euronext: AKZ; NAS: AKZOY).

Over on the 250, construction group John Wood Group (LSE: WG.) was the best performer, adding 4.61 percent to 340.5p.

Meanwhile, business services provider Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (LSE: JLT) was the biggest loser of the session as it dropped 11.48 percent to 374p.

Trade in the London equities markets was slow again on Tuesday, as only 2.6 billion shares changed hands on the session. Still, both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 saw gains on the day. The 100 added just 0.03 percent to 6,242, while the 200 was 0.2 percent higher to 11,131.

The energy sector was mixed. Reports that it was having problems at two of its nuclear power stations sent British Energy 3.9 percent lower to 444p, amid further reports that it is being hurt by dropping wholesale prices for power. Bids rumors helped Scottish & Southern Energy to hold steady at £14.75, while Drax Group added 2.2 percent to 690½p as investors hoped for higher dividends.

J Sainsbury added 0.6 percent to 435p on rumors that a private equity house could be considering a bid. Numis Securities repeated its “buy” recommendation on the supermarket and said that the value of its properties could be an attraction.

In the food and beverages sector, Cadbury Schweppes added 1.4 percent to 576½p on multiple rumors that included the possibility of a bid from private equity and a spin off of its soft drinks unit.

Medical devices manufacturer Smith & Nephew was 1.8 percent higher to 577½p ahead of its full-year report, due next week. Analysts said that it was helped by good reports from US rivals Zimmer and Stryker.

Vodafone dropped 1.3 percent to 147p ahead of a trading update, due Wednesday.

In London on Friday, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.7 percent to 6,228. This translated to a gain of 0.1 percent for the week. Meanwhile the FTSE 250 was down 0.5 percent on the day to 11,118.6, 0.4 percent higher over the week as a whole.

The tobacco sector was higher. BAT added 1.2 percent to £15.17, while Imperial Tobacco ended 2.6 percent higher to £21.06 as Citigroup said that BAT will likely get more return to shareholders both this year and next.

In the food and beverages sector, Cadbury Schweppes added 0.7 percent to 564p on new bids rumors that had private equity interested. US chocolate maker Hershey’s was also seen as a possible merger partner after its less-than-spectacular report earlier in the week.

The leisure sector was also hit by merger talk surrounding Rank Group, which gained 1.6 percent to 226½p.

Miners were lower on the day, with Xstrata the biggest loser among blue-chip stocks as it dropped 3.2 percent to £23.47. The pharmaceuticals sector was also down, with Shire falling 1.6 percent to £10.81 on a downgrade from Citigroup.

Among banks, Lloyds TSB was 0.3 percent lower to 583½p even though HSBC issued an increased recommendation, from “neutral” to “overweight”, and set a target share price of 630p.

London equities markets were mixed on Monday as the FTSE 100 hit a five-year high, gaining 21 points to 6,178.3 but the FTSE 250 dropped 14.9 points to 10,384.1.

Lloyds TSB was 1.3 percent higher to 588½p on rumors that it turned down a bid for its Scottish Widows life assurance unit from Swiss Re and Axa. Some analysts are not optimistic that such a deal would be completed, and Lloyds would not comment on the offer, which was said to have been for £8 billion.

Also seeing a gain on the session was ITV, which added 2 percent to 102¾p on an upgrade from “equal-weight” to “overweight” from Morgan Stanley on the theory that the broadcaster’s shares have reached its low and that better news on advertisements could attract private equity.

PartyGaming dropped 7.2 percent to 32p, a new low share price, after UBS cut its target share price on the online gamer to only 26p. Online gamers have been in a slump since the signing of legislation making most online gambling illegal in the United States.

Among other loses on the session, Cadbury Schweppes was 1.5 percent lower to 549½p on a downgrade from “buy” to “neutral” from Merrill Lynch, while EMI dropped 0.2 percent to 269½p after a warning that the music group expects total revenues to drop by around 3 percent for the half-year that ended September 30.

Equities markets in London were up on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 adding 0.9 percent to 5,932.1 and the FTSE 250 gaining 0.5 percent to 9,394.0. Volumes were still low, at 2.4 billion shares traded during the session.

Leading the leaders among blue-chips was ITV, which was up 4.6 percent to 101½p. The gains came amid rumors that the broadcaster’s chief executive will step down. ITV has been in focus recently over falling advertising revenues.

Cadbury Schweppes added 3.2 percent to 537½p even though it admitted that a recent incident that resulted in the contamination of some of its chocolate bars with salmonella will cost the company £20 million. The gain came on investor relief that the costs were only half the €40 million named in speculation.

Despite gains overall on the day, there were some significant declines in individual stocks. Corus dropped 3 percent to 415p on a warning from UBS that the industry as a whole is on the decline and a cut in the steel maker’s rating from “buy” to “neutral”.

A downgrade also hurt BSkyB. Citigroup downgraded the satellite broadcaster to “sell”, saying that new competition could have an impact on margins. BSkyB was 0.8 percent lower to 551p. In the banking sector, Lloyds TSB dropped 1.1 percent to 528p after Dresdner Kleinwort dropped its rating to “reduce”.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, GlaxoSmithKline fell 1.8 percent to £14.38 after going ex-dividend.

The London equities markets were higher again on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 gaining 0.3 percent to 5,851.2 and the FTSE 250 also up 0.3 percent to 9,248.5. Volume was up from Monday, with 2.6 billion shares changing hands during the session.

Boots Group and Alliance UniChem were each 2.1 percent higher, to 766p and £10.18 respectively. The gains came ahead of Monday’s scheduled completion of a merger between the two companies. JP Morgan issued a positive comment.

Brewer Scottish & Newcastle was up 2.4 percent to 533½p ahead of an expected positive half-year report due next month.

British Airways added 3 percent to 384¼p, a five-year high, as oil prices fell and in anticipation of positive earnings news next month. Morgan Stanley upped its target share price on BA to 480p and said that revenue growth predictions will have to be increased by at least 7 percent after the air carrier releases its next report on August 4.

In the pharmaceutical sector, Shire gained 2.9 percent to 852½p on the news that it has gained permission to sell its treatment for Hunter syndrome in the United States.

Cadbury Schweppes, which issues its half-year report on August 2, dropped 1.4 percent to 515p on rumors that it will issue a profits warning. The talk was based at least partly on ABN Amro’s lowered forecast, in which it cited rising costs and a recent salmonella problem in explaining its position.

Among small caps, Central African Mining & Exploration Company (Camec) was up 3.5 percent to 59p. Credit Suisse initiated coverage on Camec with an “overweight” rating and a target share price of 100p. Camec is starting to mine copper and cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

While both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 saw declines during the day on Friday, both managed to end the week slightly higher. The 100 dropped 0.9 percent to 5,719.7, while the 250 was 1 percent lower to 9,114.2 on a volume of 2.7 billion shares traded. The 100 was up by 0.2 percent on the week and the 250 had a weekly gain of 0.4 percent.

The mining sector was an instrumental part of Friday’s losses. Miners were hurt by worries that China’s demand for metals might decrease due to banking moves. Rio Tinto dropped 3.8 percent to £26.63, while Vedanta Resources was down 4.3 percent to £12.46 and Antofagasta fell 4.8 percent to 389½p.

Ultra Electronics was down 5.4 percent to £10.40 on the news that it is not talking with Finmeccanica, the Italian aerospace company. Analysts, however, tended to believe that the fact that Ultra did not lose all of Thursday’s 15 percent advance meant that such a deal was not out of the question.

Online gaming remained erratic as PartyGaming gained 10.9 percent to 96¾p after its 7.4 percent loss Thursday. The advance came after PartyGaming’s chief executive said that he was not concerned about BetOnSports’ indictment in the United States, saying that his company’s practices are nothing like those of the troubled gaming company.

Cadbury Schweppes declined by 1.1 percent to 518p on rumors that it fallout from a ruling from the Health Protection Agency that it was responsible for a Dairy Milk salmonella outbreak might cost the company £30 million.

In London on Tuesday, the equities markets were up on the day with the FTSE 100 adding 0.6 percent to 6105.6. The FTSE 250 was up just marginally but still managed to close at an all-time high of 10,135.4.

In the telecommunications sector, Vodafone added 3.2 percent to 130p as Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein said that the sale of Vodafone’s share of Verizon Wireless, said to be close, could realize as much as $40 billion to $50 billion. Elsewhere in the sector, Carphone Warehouse gained 1.4 percent to 359¼p after Bear Stearns said that it could jump up to the FTSE 100.

In the retail sector, Marks & Spencer was up 1.1 percent to 627p on the possibility that a share buyback will be announced later this month when full-year earnings data are announced. Meanwhile, home improvement retailer Kingfisher also gained 1.1 percent, helped by new data from the Land Registry that home sales were up by one-third in the first quarter of the year. UBS raised Kingfisher’s rating to “buy” from “neutral” and set its target share price at 285p. Woolworths added 2.3 percent to 33½p after Deutsche Bank said it thinks the retailer’s profits will be better next year.

Confectioners Cadbury Schweppes was up 0.9 percent to 550½p on new rumors that US companies Kraft and Hershey are both interested in bidding for the company.

In mid-morning trade on Tuesday, the London equities markets were down, with the FTSE 100 down by 0.1 percent to 5,787.6 after early gains. The FTSE 250 was also down 0.1 percent to 9,321.4.

The biggest losers were in the online gambling sector. PartyGaming lost 5.9 percent on the FTSE 100 to trade at 121p while 888.com dropped 5 percent to 187¾p. 888.com trades on the FTSE 250.

On the other hand, properties firms British Land and Land Securities were up after British Land said that its net asset value and its underlying profits were both up. British land advanced by 0.5 percent to £11.91½. Land Securities saw even more of a jump in its shares, gaining 1.6 percent to £17.97.

The mining sector was up as well, with Asian commodities prices firmer. Rio Tinto gained 1.7 percent to £27.79, BHP Billiton was up 1.4 percnet to 956½p, and Xstrata advanced by 1.1 percent to £16.27.

Life assurers were up as well, with Aviva and Prudential each gaining 1 percent to 758½p and 604p respectively.

Engine manufacturer Rolls Royce gained 1.6 percent to 434½p on an upgrade to “buy” from “neutral” by Merrill Lynch.

Cadbury Schweppes also benefited from an upgrade to “buy” from “hold” and a raised target price of 620p, up from 565p, by Citigroup. The confectioners gained 1.6 percent to 566½p.