In a week shortened by a Monday holiday, the London equities markets ended up for both the day and the week. The FTSE 100 added 0.7 percent on Friday and 1.2 percent for the week to close at 5,949.1, while the FTSE 250 gained 1.1 percent for the day and 2.2 percent over the week to 9,702.1.

The oil sector was mixed. Premier Oil was 2.8 percent higher to £10.59 as rumors continued that Royal Dutch Shell would bid £13 per share. The talk, however, sent shares in Royal Dutch Shell 0.2 percent lower to £18.77.

Steelmaker Corus added 1.8 percent to 399½p on talk from Cazenove that it was a bids target. Meanwhile, in the mining sector, Xstrata gained 2.9 percent to £24.27 on a reiteration of Deutsche Bank’s “buy” recommendation.

Among banks, Barclays was 2.4 percent higher to 673½p on the news that its new chairman-designate bought £100,000 worth of the bank’s shares on his first day on the job.

Retailers were mixed. Next dropped 0.6 percent to £16.57 on rumors that interim results, due later in the month, could fall short of expectations. On the other hand, Marks & Spencer added 2.1 percent to 605p.

ITV was up, but only by 0.2 percent to 106p, as investors worried about declines in advertising and after a number of programs did not deliver much in the way of viewership. Comments from Bear Stearns did not inspire confidence that advertising would rebound anytime soon.

In London’s equities markets on Thursday, the FTSE 100 was up, but only by 3.8 points to 5,900.4 and the FTSE 250 added 0.4 percent to 9,486.6 as miners and airlines saw advances but the oil sector was mostly lower.

Dropping crude oil prices sent shares in air carriers up as British Airways added 2.7 percent to 293p and EasyJet was 3 percent higher to 425½p. Lower costs for oil also helped cruise operators, as Carnival gained 6.4 percent to £21.72.

The oil sector, on the other hand, saw losses on the day as both Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group fell 1 percent, to £19.17 and 708p respectively. The exception was Cairn Energy, which added 3 percent to £20.80 on Merrill Lynch’s repeated “buy” recommendation, which cited the IPO of Cairn’s India operations as likely to send share prices higher.

Bids rumors sent the mining sector higher. Anglo American added 2 percent to £24.20 as Morgan Stanley commented that mergers and acquisitions are driving the sector and raised the miner’s recommendation from “underweight” to “overweight”. Meanwhile, Vedanta Resources gained 3.1 percent to £13.83 on positive comments from Goldman Sachs.

M & A rumors also sent Corus Group up by 3.2 percent to 407½p with the talk that Evraz and Severstal are both looking at offering for the steel maker.

Among loser on the day was SAB Miller, which dropped 2.9 percent to £10.40 when UBS lowered their recommendation on the brewer from “buy” to “neutral”.

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.

In London on Friday, equities markets saw declines for the day but ended the week slightly higher. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.02 percent to 5,888.9, but its closing level was good for a 1 percent rise over the week. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 ended the session 0.3 percent lower to 9,431.6 but managed and 0.1 percent gain for the week.

The airlines sector saw gains over the week. British Airways was up 3 percent to 359p on the strength of an 8.7 percent gain to 425p by low-cost air carrier EasyJet, which adjusted its full-year profit growth forecast upward to between 40 and 50 percent. Earlier, it had said that profits would grow around 15 percent for the year.

Shire Pharmaceuticals added 1 percent to 811p amid talk that it could be the target of a private equity bid. UBS said that an offer of up to £10.50 per share for Shire could still make a buyer good profit.

Among steelmakers, Corus gained 4.4 percent to 451p as rumors continued that two Russian millionaires, one the owner of Russian company Severstal, are considering a joint bid.

SAB Miller dropped 1 percent on Friday to 960½p as investors feared that this weeks Florida Supreme Court ruling vacating a $145 billion (£79 billion) damages award against US tobacco companies would lead to the sale of 28.7 percent of the brewer by Altria. The concerns have arisen because Altria, which also owns US cigarette maker Phillip Morris, is free to break off parts of its holdings now that it no longer has to worry about paying any part of the damage award. Not all analysts, however, are convinced that Altria will sell its stake in SAB.

PartyGaming dropped 5.9 percent to 108p, also on legal activity in the United States. Investors in the internet gaming company are worried about a debate in the US House of Representatives, scheduled for next week, on legislation that is designed to outlaw online gambling in the US. Analysts expect the new law to pass in the House, but don’t believe that it will make it to the Senate for a vote before elections in November.

The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 both saw gains on Friday and for the entire week, but both were lower for the second quarter of the year. The 100 ended the day 0.7 percent higher to 5,833.4. This meant a gain of 2.5 percent this week, but still left it 2.2 percent lower in the second quarter of 2006. The 250 ended the day up by 1.3 percent to 9,422.7, also a 2.5 percent gain for the week. It dropped 4.3 percent during the quarter, however. Trade volumes on the day were higher than they have been, with more than 3 billion shares trading hands.

Miners were up as the news of another interest rate hike in the United States sent metals prices higher. BHP Billiton gained 1.75 percent to £10.49, while Anglo American added 2.5 percent to £22.18 and Xstrata was up 3.1 percent to £20.50.

In the steel sector, Corus advanced by 2.5 percent to 456½p as rumors persisted that India’s Tata Steel is interested in making a bid.

Among utilities, Centrica added 4.1 percent to 285¼p after the head of Gazprom said during a news conference in Moscow that while there are not talks going on presently, he is still interested in purchasing the owner of British Gas. Gazprom recently bought Pennine Natural Gas, based in Cheshire.

In the semiconductor sector, Wolfson Microelectronics gained 4.3 percent to 115¼p on a reconfirmation of a “buy” recommendation from ABN Amro.

The FTSE 100 was up by 0.5 percent to 5,678.6 in London on Wednesday as the oil sector saw gains as crude oil prices were up again. The FTSE 250, however, dropped slightly to 9,197.2. Trade volumes remained below average, with only 2.4 billion shares changing hands.

BP added 0.9 percent to 618½p, BG Group was up 1.2 percent to 707p, and Royal Dutch Shell gained 1.4 percent to £18.41. Merrill Lynch confirmed its “overweight” rating for the sector as a whole.

PartyGaming dropped 2.1 percent to 113½p. Analysts believe that the drop is due to selling of the internet gaming company’s stock, which they bought earlier this month when four of PartyGaming’s founders sold 5 percent of the company.

In the media sector, EMI added 8.4 percent to 307½p on the news that it has turned down an offer worth 320p per share from Warner Music.

Corus Steel added 1.3 percent to 434p amid rumors that it has received a bid from either Severstal of Russia or Tata Steel of India. Earlier in the week, Severstal failed to completel a deal with Arcelor.

In the utilities sector, Severn Trent dropped 3.1 percent to £11.35 and United Utilities fell 3.3 percent to 630p.

Trade volumes remained low in the London equities markets on Monday, with a mere 2.5 billion shares trading hands. The FTSE 100 closed down 0.2 percent to 5,681.2, while the FTSE 250 added 0.02 percent to 9,197.1.

The mining sector was mixed. Anglo American was up 1.4 percent to £21.38 and Xstrata added 0.9 percent to £19.55 on talk that the two might merge. The rumors seem to have been spurred by an offer from Phelps Dodge to purchase Canadian miners Falconbridge and Inco. On the other hand, Corus dropped 0.5 percent to 428½p due to profit-taking.

Retailer Marks & Spencer gained 2.1 percent to 578p ahead of its first quarter trade update, which is upcoming on July 11. Analysts think that the report will be good enough to trigger earnings upgrades.

SABMiller was down 3.8 percent to 932p on currency weakness in regions where it sells its products. The brewer generates around 25 percent of its earnings in South Africa, where the rand is weak, and also has strong sales in Columbia where the peso has been struggling.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Shire Pharmaceuticals added 2.1 percent to 770½p after it was said that Swiss biotech firm Serono could be interested in bidding for the drug maker.

Banks helped the London equities markets higher on Thursday as the FTSE 100 added 0.45 percent to 5,749.7 and the FTSE 250 was up 0.1 percent to 9,310.4. The market was quiet on the day, with only 2.8 billion shares traded.

The mining sector was down on the day, providing the three biggest losers on the 100 as metals prices dropped. Rio Tinto lost 3.1 percent to £28.71, while Kazakhmys was down 3.3 percent to £10.98 and Xstrata closed 3.4 percent lower at £20.57.

Corus was up 1.8 percent to 398p on rumors out of Russia that the owner of Chelsea football club is seeking a minority stake in the steel company.

In the homebuilding sector, McCarthy & Stone added 2.8 percent to 787½p on rumors that the retirement home builder has received a bid worth 900p per share.

In the banking sector, Alliance & Leicester added 2.1 percent to £12.05 after Credit Agricole sold part of its stake in Greek bank Emporiki. CA said recently that it is thinking about bidding for A&L. Lloyds TSB was up 2.4 percent to 515½p on rumors that it might raise its dividend as soon as next year. Royal Bank of Scotland also added 2.4 percent on the day, to £17.65.

The London equities markets suffered another day of losses on Monday, taking the FTSE 100 to its lowest point since the middle of December. The 100 dropped 2.2 percent to 5,523.7, bringing losses in four sessions to 5.4 percent. The FTSE 250 dropped 4 percent to 8,828.6, its largest daily percentage loss in six years. Mining, and steel were all instrumental in the declines, as was news of lower metals prices and declining markets in Asia.

Some analysts blamed much of the recent declines on unusual amounts of derivatives activity by hedge funds and investment banks that are said to have made substantial bets on the direction of volatility in the markets. Those investments are now unraveling and the banks and funds are trying, it is said, to balance their books by selling FTSE index futures. One trader said that Monday was repeat of Wednesday’s huge losses.

Corus Group was the biggest loser of the day on the 100. The steel producer lost 9.3 percent to 344½p.

In the mining sector, Xstrata was down 8.7 percent to £17.64. Kazakhmys dropped 8.5 percent to 958p, while Antofagasta declined by 7.3 percent to £18.89.

Only nine stocks on the 100 saw gains on the day. Alliance & Leicester, for example, saw a gain of 2.5 percent to £11.43 on the news that Credit Agricole is considering a bid.

London equities markets were down substantially again on Monday, with the FTSE 100 losing 1.2 percent to 5,841.3 and the FTSE 250 falling 2.6 percent to 9,557.3. It was the fifth session of losses in a row for the 100.

The mining sector accounted for a substantial amount of the declines. Xstrata and Kazakhmys each lost 8.4 percent, to £22.08 and £12.04 respectively. Xstrata is said to be looking for a way to fund an offer of £9.4 billion for Canadian miner Falconbridge. Elsewhere in the sector, Antofagasta dropped 6.9 percent to £22.73, while BHP Billiton was down 5.6 percent to £11.02.

The steel sector also saw losses as Anglo-Dutch group Corus was down 3.7 percent to 421¼p after US investor Brandes said that it has reduced its holding in the company from 4.8 percent to 3.79 percent.

Retailer Next was also down, by 0.3 percent to £17.45 even though Man Securities raised its target share price for the company from £19 to £22.50 before Next’s trading update, due on Wednesday.

Among banks, Lloyds TSB added 0.8 percent to 510p on a possible dividend yield of 6.7 percent.

The telecommunications sector had a good day. Vodafone, which had UBS hike its target share price to 153p and issue a “buy” recommendation, was up 1.2 percent to 125¼p. Meanwhile, BT Group gained 2.6 percent to 216p on rumors that it will have a smaller-than-projected pension fund deficit when it issues its full-year report on Thursday.