The London equities markets saw advances on Thursday, helped out by the drinks sector and the announcement that Reed Elsevier will sell one of its divisions. The FTSE 100 added 0.19 percent to 6,433.3, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.29 percent to 11,574.60.

The drinks sector was helped out by Diageo, which posted higher half-year earnings even though there were challenges in some markets and a weakening of the dollar. The maker of Johnnie Walker whisky added 2.35 percent to on the day. Brewers were also boosted by a report that InBev is talking with US company Anheuser-Busch about a merger deal. SABMiller gained 1.9 percent to £11.98, while Scottish & Newcastle was 2.3 percent higher to 579p. S&N also benefited from rumors that it could be talking with Carlsberg about a deal.

Reed Elsevier added 6.6 percent to 644½p after it said it will sell its education publishing unit. The gain came even though its full-year report on earnings and revenue was below what had been anticipated.

Defense contractor BAE Systems was 2.5 percent higher to 454p ahead of a report due next week, after Credit Suisse upped its target share price from 465p to 500p.

Plumber Wolseley was hurt after Merrill Lynch removed it from its “buy” list, dropping 2.3 percent to £13.75.

After Monday’s holiday, London markets resumed trade on Tuesday with slightly higher volumes of 2.2 billion shares traded and small gains in both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250. The 100 added 0.17 percent to 5,888.3 after going as high as 5,921.3 earlier in the session, while the 250 was 0.4 percent higher to 9,531.8

Airlines and cruise ship operators benefited from declining oil prices, which dropped below $70 dollars per gallon. Cruise ship operator Carnival added 2.6 percent to £21.74. Among airlines, British Airways was up 4 percent to 414¼p and EasyJet gained 4.5 percent to 454½p.

Brewers were up on the day as well. Diageo added 0.1 percent to 945p ahead of its full-year report, due on Thursday. SABMiller gained 0.6 percent to £10.13. Both were said to be interested in bidding for Australian drinks company Foster’s.

Another of the day’s gainers was plumber and buildings materials group Wolseley, which added 2.2 percent to £10.89 ahead of an interim report due next month. The gains came after Wolseley lost a quarter of its value recently.

Among losers on the day was MFI Furniture Group, which dropped 4.2 percent to 85p on reports that the sale of its losing retail business in the UK ahs run into problems. Also lower was coal-fueled power station operator Drax, down 1.8 percent to 902p.