The equities markets in London were lower on the day, with the FTSE 100 dropping 0.4 percent to 6,083.4 and the FTSE 250 declining by 0.3 percent to 10,108.6. Part of the declines were accounted for by a general lack of interest ahead of a new interest rate decision by the US Federal Reserve.

The retail sector was strong on the day. Electricals retailer DSG International added 7 percent to 207¾p for the biggest gain in the FTSE 100 on the day after it said that profits for the fiscal year to be higher than had been expected due to better sales in the second half of the year. Elsewhere in the sector, GUS added 1.6 percent to £10.71 and Next was up 2.3 percent to £17.66. Helped by bids rumors, Kingfisher added 2.1 percent to 243½p.

Among insurers, Prudential added 1.2 percent to 660p on rumors that rival Aviva was interested in a merger, based on a set of answers to “frequently asked questions” issued at Aviva’s annual meeting of shareholders. Analysts pointed out, however, that Takeover Panel rules stipulate that Aviva cannot offer another bid until September unless the two companies mutually agree to a deal. Aviva was down 0.3 percent on the day to 802p.

There were declines in the oil and pharmaceuticals sectors. BP dropped 1.2 percent to 674½p, while GlaxoSmithKline was down 1 percent to £15.40.

London equities markets were down so slightly on Tuesday that they closed virtually flat on the day. The FTSE 100 lost only 0.4 point to close at 5,991.3, while the FTSE 250 lost 4.9 points to close at 9,810.1. Trade was at 3.2 billion shares for the day.

In the steel sector, Corus Group gained 11.3 percent to 90p, its highest price since July 2000. The gains came on news that it was holding talks with Russian Evraz Group about a possible merger. Also leading to the advance was a move by UBS to raise Corus Group’s target share price from 85p to 105p.

Takeover rumors revived in the telecommunications sector, with talk circulating that Cable & Wireless could be a target, with private equity groups, France Telecom, and even Vodafone being named as possible bidders. C&W’s shares gained 6.4 percent on the day to 112¾p and 150 million shares in the company were traded. Colt Telecom was also a rumored target of a takeover bid, lifting Colt’s shares by 5.7 percent to 74p.

Bid rumors also lifted BG Group once again, sending its shares up 1.1 percent to 716½p.

In the retail sector, GUS was up 1.1 percent to £10.92 on a report from Deutsche Bank that the group will likely announce a break-up soon, possibly through a demerger of its credit assessment unit.