Both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 were lower in London on Tuesday. Among the circumstances leading to the declines were word of terrorist bombings in Mumbai and a slow start for the markets in New York. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.6 percent to 5,857.3, while the FTSE 250 fell by 0.7 percent to 9,320.3.

Companies with exposure in India were hurt by news that terrorists had bombed several train stations and trains in Mumbai, with considerable loss of life. Vedanta Resources declined by 1.6 percent to £13.70, while Cairn Energy was down 2.3 percent to £20.85 and Standard Chartered dropped 2.7 percent to £12.87.

There were big losses in the semiconductor sector, as Wolfson Microelectronics fell 13.2 percent to 386¼p, for the largest decline on the 250, on speculation that its second-quarter report could contain less than positive news. Elsewhere in the sector, wireless chip designer CSR declined by 7.5 percent to £11.

Among banks, Barclays lost 1.4 percent to 609p on rumors that it has received a broker downgrade due to slow growth in its investment banking unit.

There were few stocks in the black for the day. In the retail sector, Marks & Spencer added 0.3 percent to 585p on a first-quarter trading update that was in line with expectations. Pubs group Enterprise Inns gained 0.4 percent to 958p, while Scottish & Southern Energy gained 0.7 percent to £11.80.

In London on Friday, trade in equities was slow again with only 2.1 billion shares changing hands during the session. The activity left the markets higher for the day, but only just, with the FTSE 100 adding 0.1 percent to 5,692.1 and the FTSE 250 up 0.03 percent, just 2.4 points, to close at 9,195.3. Both the 100 and the 250 were up for the week, by 1.7 percent and 1.1 percent respectively.

The oil sector was largely responsible for the 100’s gains on the day. Royal Dutch Shell gained 1.4 percent to £18.21, while BP was up 2 percent to 617p. Deutsche Bank put its target share price for BP at 800p, and issued an upgrade for Shell to “buy” and set its target share price to £21.

Energy companies saw advances as well, spurred on by news that in the US Anadarko Petroleum has purchased both Kerr-McGee and Western Gas Resources in separate cash deals. BG Group gained 2.7 percent to 695p, while Cairn Energy added 4.8 percent to £20.71.

SABMiller dropped 1.5 percent to 960p after comments from Merrill Lynch said that the brewer might have to cut its earnings forecasts due to continuing weakness in the South African rand, which was at a two and a half year low of 7.53 rand to the dollar on Friday. SABMiller has lost almost 18 percent since May 11.

In the construction materials sector, Wolseley added 0.5 percent to £11.55 and Hanson was up 2 percent to 651½p as the US dollar gained value in relation to sterling. Because both companies get a large portion of their profits in dollars but report earnings in sterling, those earnings show a boos when the dollar strengthens.

Persimmon gained 1.3 percent to £12.09 after UBS reaffirmed its “buy” recommendation and set a target share price of £16.35 in anticipation of the homebuilder’s half-year results, due next week.

The London equities markets had another losing day on Tuesday as it reacted to falling Asian markets and sell-offs of commodities. Some investors were also busy shedding risky shares ahead of new data on US consumer prices, due on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 dropped 1.8 percent on the day to 5,519.6, while the FTSE 250 ended the session at 8,721.7, 2.9 percent lower. Activity was heavy, with 4 billion shares traded on the day.

Miners fell as prices for gold and copper dropped substantially. Kazakhmys was down 7.1 percent to 948½p, while Antofagasta dropped 5.4 percent to £18.08, BHP Billiton lost 4.7 percent to 910p, and Xstrata declined by 4 percent to £18.19.

The oil sector also saw losses as crude oil prices fell as low as they have been in two months. BP fell 2.2 percent to 594-, BG Group was down 3.2 percent to 657p, and Cairn Energy was down by 4.7 percent to £18.91.

In the banking sector, Alliance & Leicester dropped 5.5 percent to £10.90 after Credit Agricole bid for Greek bank Emporiki even though analysts expressed the opinion that this new bid did not mean that Agricole had lost interest in bidding for A&L. Additionally, a spokesman for Agricole said that one deal had nothing to do with inclination or not to pursue the other.

In London on Wednesday the equities markets took a tumble after Tuesday‘s gains, with the FTSE 100 dropping 1.6 percent to 5,587.1 and the FTSE 250 dropping 1.95 percent to 9,054. Much of the declines on the 100 were put to losses in the oil and mining sectors.

Among blue-chip miners, Kazakhmys lost 5.7 percent to £10.20 and Antofagasta was down 3.7 percent to £19.95. Mid-cap miners did better, with Vedanta adding 1.8 percent to £13.13, while Lonmin was up 0.45 percent to £24.52.

In the oil sector, a drop in the price of crude oil sent Cairn Energy down 4.7 percent to £20.83.

The online gaming sector provided the biggest loser on the 100 on concerns that a Judiciary Committee vote in the United States on a bill that would outlaw online gambling could send the legislation to a full vote in the House of Representatives as early as June 11. The prospect sent shares in PartyGaming down 6.5 percent to 112¾p. The news that two of PartyGaming’s founders are resigning from the board and could sell much of their 39 percents take in the company also figured in the day’s loss.

British Airways was down 0.9 percent on the day to 335p on reports that bird flu might have spread person-to-person in Indonesia.

Only six stocks on the 100 closed the day with gains. Scottish Power added 1.9 percent to 553½p on a full-year report that exceeded expectations. Another of the day’s gainers was pubs operator Mitchells & Butlers, which was up 2.45 percent to 481¼p on a rumor that Robert Tchenguiz, who recently walked away from a bid for the company, was planning on purchasing a substantial block of M&B’s stock during the day as a move toward another attempt to buy the company. By law he cannot make another bid until November, but due to a recent rules change he can legally build his stake before that time.

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.

In London on Wednesday, declines in the oil sector and online gaming, as well as a weak start to the trading day in New York all combined to send the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 down on the day. The 100 was down by 1.2 percent to 6,010, while the 250 was off by 0.3 percent to 9,896.3.

The news that a bill prohibiting online gambling in the US had gone before a congressional subcommittee sent shares in UK online gaming companies down on the day. PartyGaming dropped 4.5 percent to 148p, while Sportingbet lost 4.6 percent to 402p and 888 Holdings was down by 5.8 percent to 230½p. Even though many analysts believe that the legislation will survive the committee, most do not believe it will be approved when the full House of Representatives votes on it, most likely in June.

Falling crude oil prices sent BG Group down 2.3 percent to 745½p. BP lost 1.6 percent to 677p, and Cairn Energy dropped 0.6 percent to £24.33.

Miner Kazakhmys dropped 3.8 percent to £11.49 on disappointing production levels in the first quarter.

Gainers on the day included Northern Rock. The bank added 2.4 percent to £10.96 on an upgrade to “buy” from Deutsche Bank. Meanwhile, pubs operator Mitchells & Butlers, which added 7 percent to 516p on hopes of an offer by financier Robert Tchenguiz, and computer games company SCi Entertainment gained 4.3 percent to 537p on hopes that its new game will be a hit.

The London equities markets ended lower on the day Thursday on sell-offs in the mining sector and declines in oil as crude prices fell. The FTSE 100 was down 0.73 percent to 6,060 and the FTSE 250 dropped 0.72 percent to 9,925.6.

Some of the biggest gainers on the day were in the online gaming sector. The advances came after the American Gaming Association recommended that the US Congress undertake a one-year study to determine whether it would be better to legalize and regulate online gambling rather than to try and outlaw it. The significance of the recommendation, according to some analysts, is that this was the first indication that the AGA would support online gaming.

BetOnSpsorts was up 5.2 percent to 169p, PartyGaming added 4.6 percent to 152¾p, 888 Holdings gained 2.95 percent to 244p, and Sportingbet rose by 2.4 percent to 431p.

In the banking sector, Lloyds TSB was up 0.2 percent to 533p after ABN Amro reiterated its “trading buy” recommendation on the bank, saying that the same factors that allowed it to add 9 percent to revenues in the last half of last year were still operative presently.

Miners lost ground on the news that China had increased interest rates. Antofagasta dropped 4.4 percent to £23.58, while Anglo-American was down 3.4 percent to £23.34 and Xstrata declined by 3.2 percent to £20.15.

In the oil sector, meanwhile, Royal Dutch Shell’s B shares were down 2.2 percent to £19.93, BP dropped 2 percent to 683½p, and Cairn Energy was off 1.5 percent to £23.57. Besides the decline in crude oil prices, the news from China on interest rates was also a factor in the sector’s retreat.

The London equities markets were mixed on Tuesday as the FTSE 100 was hurt by a declining oil sector but the FTSE 250 was helped out by bid rumors in the homebuilding sector. The 100 dropped 0.2 percent to 6,086.6, while the 250 added 0.1 percent to 9,966.9.

Oil exploration company Cairn Energy was down 2 percent to £23.70 on lower oil prices and talk that the company’s directors had been selling their own shares in the company in order to profit from the company’s recent advances. Cairn has added 23 percent to its share price since the beginning of the year.

In the homebuilding sector, Bellway was said to be especially attractive to possible bidders with one of the lowest share prices in the sector. Bellway added 0.4 percent on the day to £11.91.

Still in mergers and acquisitions, broadcaster ITV was rumored to be about to receive an offer from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, a private equity group. ITV was up 1.3 percent to 116p. Takeover speculation also surrounded pubs group Greene King, which lost 0.8 percent on the day to 755½p. Entrepreneur Michael Cannon was said to be interested.

In the steel sector, Corus was up 1.1 percent to 88¼p as Citigroup reiterated its “buy” recommendation and upped its target share price from 90p to 100p.

London’s equities markets were mixed this week, with the FTSE 100 up 0.8 percent but the FTSE 250 sliding 0.4 percent over the five sessions. However, both indices were up on Friday, with the FTSE 100 gaining 0.9 percent on the day to 5,907.9 and the FTSE 250 up 0.5 percent to 9,430.1 on a volume of 3 billion shares traded. It was the first time the 100 had closed above the 5,900 mark in almost five years.

Bid talk drove much of the movement in individual companies. Cairn Energy was up 2.3 percent higher on the day to £19.15 on hopes that India’s ONGC would make a bid for Cairn’s assets there. Conversely, doubts that a private equity group would bid for BT sent the telecommunication company’s shares down 1.3 percent to 224½p.

Airports operator BAA gained 5 percent to 814p on new rumors that Ferrovial would bid for it after all, just a day after it suffered losses when it seemed that the Spanish company had decided not to make a bid, even though it had said earlier that it was interested.

Anglo American ended the day 0.3 percent higher to £19.78 despite earlier losses after Morgan Stanley cut the miner’s rating to “underweight” from “overweight”.

The banking sector saw gains on lessened concerns over inflation. Lloyds TSB was up 0.9 percent to 535½p, while Barclay’s gained 2.1 percent to 660½p.

In London on Friday the FTSE 100 gained 0.2 percent to 5,397.8, while the FTSE 250 was up by 0.2 percent as well, to 7,853.7.

The markets were up on advances in the telecommunications sector and on the downgrade of Hurricane Rita to Category 4.

In the telecommunications sector, O2 gained 2.3 percent to 154¼p on a positive assessment by ratings agency Fitch, while Vodafone rose 1.4 percent to 147p.

The oil sector declined on the day as damage predictions ahead of Rita were decreased. BG Group fell 1.1 percent to 534½p, Royal Dutch Shell declined 1.2 percent to £19.09, BP lost 1.6 percent to 657½p, and Cairn Energy was down 2 percent to £19.77.

Elsewhere, ITV gained 1.4 percent to 112¼p as rumors continued that a group led by a former BBC director general was getting ready to bid on the broadcasting company.

Pub group Enterprise Inns added 1.8 percent to 838p on an announcement that it expects profits to meet expectations and that it will return surplus cash to shareholders through higher dividends and share buybacks.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, GlaxoSmithKline gained 2.7 percent to £14.16.