London’s markets saw declines on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 down 0.24 percent to 6,615.1 and the FTSE 250 falling 0.56 percent to 11,666.8.

Retailers were mixed on the session, with Wm Morrison (LSE: MRW) up 2.48 percent to 313.75p but Home Retail (LSE: HOME) falling 2.35 percent to 438.75p for the worst day on the 100.

Conversely, the best performer on the 100 was in the leisure sector, where Whitbread (LSE: WTB) added 7.04 percent to £19.46 on rumors that it could be targeted for bids.

Other gainers on the day included BSkyB, which added 4.17 percent to 700p.

In the oil sector, BG Group (LSE: BG; NYSE: BG) gained 2.56 percent to 842p.

The pharmaceuticals sector was mixed.

AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN; NYSE: AZN) was 2.43 percent higher to £26.95 on an upgrade from “equal-weight” to “overweight” from Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), while Shire (LSE: SHP; NAS: SHPGY) was down 1.97 percent to £11.97 on rumors that it might be looking to make an acquisition.

Also lower on the session was property group Hammerson (LSE: HMSO), which dropped 1.65 percent to £13.67.

British Airways (LSE: BAY; NSYE: BAB) fell 1.7 percent to 418.5p, hurt by higher oil prices.

The FTSE 100 dropped 0.6 percent to 6,269.3 in London on Thursday, while the FTSE 250 was 0.2 percent lower to 11,171.1. The 100 briefly reached a six-year high, at 6,335.1, early in the session but dropped later on the slow start in the New York markets.

Real estate was higher on the session after JP Morgan reminded that the UK sector is currently a better bargain than its European rivals. Hammerson added 0.2 percent to £15.03, while British Land was 0.6 percent higher to £16.21.

Publisher Pearson added 0.9 percent to 817½p on bids rumors and after Citigroup upped its target share price to 900p.

The pharmaceuticals sector declined after Credit Suisse said that the sector would extend its underperformance into this year after a sector-wide decline of 5.2 percent last year, mentioning the trouble companies were having bringing new drugs to market and keeping them there once introduced. Shire dropped 1 percent to £10.99, while AstraZeneca fell 1.3 percent to £28.44 and GlaxoSmithKline was 1.4 percent lower to £13.93.

In a related news, medical devices manufacturer Smith & Nephew was 1.4 percent lower to 570½p after it was suggested that its next report might not show as much of an improvement in margins as is hoped.

London equities markets were lower on Monday, led down by the real estate sector. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.4 percent to 6,194.2 and the FTSE 250 was 0.3 percent lower to 11,156.

Despite the general losses, some sectors saw gains. Miners were up after a bad week last week. Anglo American was 1.6 percent higher to £23.68, helped by the possibility that it could sell some of its 42 percent stake in South African gold miner AngloGold. Xstrata added 2.2 percent to £23.14 after dropping 11 percent last week, while Lonmin gained 3.2 percent to £28.90.

In the energy sector, Cairn Energy was 3.3 percent higher to £17.25 on positive comments from Man Securities, which said that Cairn could see advances if the debut of Cairn India on the stock exchange in Mumbai on Tuesday is fairly successful.

Declines in the real estate sector were explained by nervousness among investors ahead of a meeting by the Bank of England, scheduled for Thursday, when the Bank will make its latest decision on interest rates. The sector was also hurt by a sector wide downgrade to “underweight” from HSBC. Liberty International dropped 1.5 percent to £13.45, Slough Estates fell 1.7 percent to 770p, and Hammerson was 2.5 percent lower to £14.97. British Land was down 2.9 percent to £16.04, while Land Securities dropped 3.2 percent to £22.10.

London equities markets were sharply lower on Thursday after the Bank of England announced that it had raised interest rates in the UK by a quarter of a percent to 4.75 percent. Most analysts had not expected the rate hike to come at this time. With 3.2 billion shares changing hands, the FTSE 100 dropped 1.6 percent to close at 5,838.4 and the FTSE 250 was 1.4 percent lower, ending the session at 9,264.3.

Sectors most seriously affected by the rate hike included mortgage banks, homebuilders, and those companies that market homes and land. Among homebuilders, Persimmon was 4 percent lower to £12.42, while Bellway fell 4.3 percent to £11.65 and Barratt Developments dropped 5.1 percent to 945p.

Among those engaged in selling property, Hammerson declined by 3 percent to £12.36, British Land was 3.9 percent lower to £13.24, and Liberty International fell by 4.3 percent to £11.04. Estate agents were also lower. Rightmove dropped 5.8 percent to 270p, while Countrywide fell 8.1 percent to 387p.

In the banking sector, mortgage banks declined on the theory that higher interest rates would mean higher house payments and the possibility that more people would not be able to meet their debts. Northern Rock was down by 1.6 percent to £10.88, while HBOS fell 3 percent to 959p and Alliance & Leicester dropped 3.5 percent to 955p.

There were advances on the day, but they were few and far between. PartyGaming added 0.5 percent to 110p on the news that it has bought internet sports betting company Gamebookers. Broadcaster ITV gained 2.7 percent to 104¼p after adding nearly 5 percent on Wednesday. Wm Morrison was 3.5 percent higher to 213p on higher sales. Citigroup raised the supermarket chain’s target share price from 215p to 240p and reconfirmed it’s “buy” recommendation.

The London equities markets were mixed on Monday, with the FTSE 100 adding just 0.14 percent to 5,896.9 while the FTSE 250 dropped 0.44 percent to 9,390.1. Volume was very low, at only 2.2 billion shares traded on the session. At that, volume was pushed up by heaving trading in Invensys, at 206 million shares traded, and Standard Life, which traded over 170 million shares in its first day of trade.

British Airways was the best performer on the 100, adding 1.9 percent to 366p as oil prices dropped. Also doing well among stocks listed on the 100 was Vodafone, which was up 1 percent to 119¾p on anticipation of a possible bid for its 45 percent share of Verizon Wireless. Dresdner Kleinwort Wassterstein repeated its “buy” recommendation on the mobile phone company, citing a special dividend of 15p due later in the month.

In the retail sector, Marks & Spencer was up 0.4 percent to 582p ahead of its first-quarter trading update, due Tuesday.

Real estate was mixed, with Land Securities dropping 0.2 percent to £18.67 percent and Hammerson declining by 2.4 percent to £12.11. However, British Land gained 0.2 percent to £13.32 on rumors that it will introduce a new chairman at its annual meeting on Thursday.

Equities markets in London were mixed but closed very close to Monday’s levels on Tuesday as investors indulged in profit-taking after gains in the past four trading sessions. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.02 percent, less than a point, to 4,883.5. The FTSE 250 was up 0.09 percent to 9,505.6. With US markets closed for the Independence Day holiday, volume was light with only 1.9 billion shares trading hands.

The property sector saw gains among both blue-chip and mid-cap stocks. On the 100, both British Land and Land Securities added 2.8 percent, to £13.33 and £18.79 respectively. Hammerson gained 3.1 percent to £12.41. Over on the 250, Shaftesbury was up 4.8 percent to 549p, while St Modwen rose 4.9 percent to 469p and Great Portland Estates gained 534¾p.

Among telecoms, Vodafone was up 1 percent to 119p on positive comments from Deutsche Bank.

Positive sentiment from Goldman Sachs sent Marks & Spencer 1.9 percent higher to 598p, as it added the retailer to its ‘Conviction Buy List’.

On the other hand AstraZeneca dropped 2.7 percent to £32.19 when ING downgraded the drug maker from “buy” to “hold”, saying that its 12.7 percent share price rise in the past month raises issues of valuation.

After big declines on Monday, the London equities markets were significantly on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 saw its largest percentage gain since April of 2003, adding 2.6 percent on the day to 5,678.7. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 put on the most points on one day in its history, gaining 405.7 points, 4.6 percent, to 9,234.3.

Only six companies on the 100 declined on the day. Among those were retailer Marks & Spencer, which lost 3.2 percent to 549p on a disappointing full year report, which included only a 5 percent increase in sales at its refurbished stores. Also down on the day was mobile phone group Vodafone, which was down 1 percent to 116¾p ahead of an earnings report due next week.

Commodities prices were on the rise once again, leading to steep gains on the mining and oil sectors. Among miners, Kazakhmys was up 13 percent to £10.82. Xstrata added 10 percent to £19.42, while Antofagasta gained 9.7 percent to £20.72.

Gains in the oil sector were not as large, but were still substantial. BP and BG Group each added 4.2 percent, to 635p and 673p respectively. Royal Dutch Shell gained 3.8 percent to close at £18.78.

The real estate sector saw big gains, as well. Hammerson and Liberty International were each up 7 percent on the day, to £11.23 and £10.42 respectively. British Land gained 6.4 percent to £12.38 after it said that its net asset value had climbed 32 percent and announced that it would change over to a tax-efficient investment trust status as quickly as it could. Land Securities advanced by 5.6 percent to £17.80 on an upgrade from Merrill Lynch.

In London on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 closed up 0.3 percent to 6,007.5, the first time it has closed above 6,000 in five years. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was 0.5 percent higher to close at 9,858.6. Continued bid rumors and gains in the property sector were instrumental in the day’s advances.

Shares in property companies were up an the news that new rules on the introduction of tax-efficient property investment vehicles were less restrictive than they had been expected to be. Slough Estates gained 13.4 percent on the day to 685p, while Land Securities was up 12.9 percent to £20.80, British Land advanced by 11.9 percent to £13.00, and Hammerson added 9.2 percent.

BT Group gained 2.4 percent to 234½p on more intense rumors that a private equity consotium was going to bid, possibly offering as much as 265p per share. Elsewhere in the telecommunications sector, Cable & Wireless dropped 2.7 percent to 109¾p as bid rumors lessened in intensity.

Broadcaster ITV was up 9.4 percent to 650½p after it said it had rejected a bid from a consortium that included Apax Partners and Goldman Sachs, saying that the offer was not in the best interest of shareholders.

The London Stock Exchange dropped 3.3 percent to £11.38 when Credit Suisse downgraded it to “neutral” from “outperform”.