London’s markets were lower on the session Tuesday.

The FTSE 100 fell 1.9 percent to 6,102.2 while the FTSE 250 dropped 1.6 percent to 10,793.8.

Banks were down there as well, on reports of substantial exposure to the troubled US subprime market.

Even though the banks issued denials, Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL) fell 3.91 percent to £10.08, while Barclays Bank (LSE: BARC; NYSE: BCS; TYO: 8642) dropped 3.6 percent to 589p and HSBC Holdings (LSE: HSBA; NYSE: HBC; Euronext: HSBC; SEHK: 005) was 1.9 percent lower to 881p.

The biggest decliner on the 100, however, was miner Lonmin (LSE: LMI) at a drop of 6.02 percent to £29.81.

Over on the 250, Aquarius Platinum (LSE: AQP; ASX: AQP; JSE: AQP) fell 5.26 percent to £13.87.

Online gambler PartyGaming (LSE: PRTY) was the worst performer on the 250; it was 7.14 percent lower to 22.75p.

The biggest gainer on the 100 was electricity generator Drax Group (LSE: DRX), which added 1.65 percent to 645p.

Pubs operators were higher.

Punch Taverns (LSE: PUB) gained 0.1 percent to £10.49, while Enterprise Inns (LSE: ETI) advanced 0.9 percent to 613.5p.

British Airways (LSE: BAY; NYSE: BAB) was up 0.86 percent to 412.75p.

Builder John Wood Group had the best day on the 250, adding 4.68 percent to 352.5p.

Asset managers Henderson Group (LSE: HGI; ASX: HGI) was 4.07 percent higher to 140.75p after Citigroup (NYSE: C) raised its recommendation from “hold“ to “buy“.

Construction engineers Keller Group (LSE: KLR) gained 2.8 percent to £10.29.

In London on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 added 1.81 percent to 6,196 and the FTSE 250 was up 2.55 percent to 10,910.7.

Miners were higher on the day after BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; NYSE: BHP; ASX: BHP) announced that its underlying profit was up 35 percent in the full year on increased demand from China and on higher commodity prices.

BHP was 4.92 percent higher to £13.65, taking other miners with it.

Anglo-American (LSE: AAL) was up 4.68 percent to £27.52, while Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) gained 6.19 percent to 694.5p and Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) added 6.81 percent to £32.80 and Lonmin (LSE: LMI) jumped 7.22 percnet to £31.77.

Pubs operator Punch Taverns (LSE: PUB) added 6.4 percent to £10.39 on positive broker comment.

Rivals Mitchells & Butlers (LSE: MAB) and Enterprise Inns (LSE: ETI) were also higher, gaining 3.8 percent to 704p and 5.8 percent to 611p respectively.

Some banks also saw gains. HSBC (LSE: HSBA; NYSE: HBC; Euronext: HSBC; SEHK: 005) was up 1.2 percent to 907p after it said it will close an office in Indiana next year and will eliminate 600 jobs on account of subprime problems.

Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN; SEHK: 2888) gained 2.2 percent to £15.75, while Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) added 3.7 percent to 728p.

Construction-related shares did well on the 250.

Construction engineering firm Keller Group (LSE: KLR) added 6.88 percent to 987p.

Atkins (LSE: ATK), which offers construction management and consulting services, was up 8.61 percent to £10.28, while builder Severfield-Rowen (LSE: SFR) was the best perfomrer of the day on the 250 as it gained 8.83 percent to £22.68.

The oil sector was mixed.

JKX Oil & Gas (LSE: JKX) had the worst day on the 250, falling 4.25 percent to 354.75.

On the other hand, Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW; OTC: TUWLY) was 4.4 percent higher to 483p after it said it had made a “significant” discovery offshore near Ghana.

The worst performer on the 100 was Scottish & Southern Energy (LSE: SSE) with a drop of 2.94 percent to £13.85.

In the telecommunications sector, Vodafone (LSE: VOD; NYSE: VOD; FWB: VOD) was 0.26 percent lower to 156p, while BT Group (LSE: BT.A; NYSE: BT) dropped 2.24 percent to 305p.

In the retail sector, DSG International (LSE: DSGI) was down 0.63 percent to 159p.

Equities markets in London declined Wednesday as the FTSE 100 was 0.56 percent lower to 6,109.3 and the FTSE 250 dropped 0.99 percent to 10,889.3.

UK banks followed European banks lower.

HSBC (LSE: HSBA; NYSE: HBC; Euronext: HSBC; SEHK: 005) was down 2 percent to 883.5p, while Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS; NYSE: RBS PRM) fell 2.2 percent to 561p after it said it won’t reduce its bid, in consortium with other banks, for ABN Amro (Euronext: AAB; NYSE: ABN) to reflect ABN’s lower value after a dividend payout.

Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN; SEHK: 2888) was 2.25 percent lower to £15.62, while Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) had the worst day on the 100 as it dropped 5.3 percent to 687.5p after it said it could miss its profits forecast.

Miners were lower as well after copper prices fell 1.2 percent in London to $7,329 per tonne.

BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; NYSE: BHP; ASX: BHP) was down 1.7 percent to £12.76, while Anglo American (LSE: AAL) was 1.9 percent lower to £27.25.

Housebuilders and property investors had a better day.

Persimmon (LSE: PSN) was the best performer on the 100 with a gain of 3.88 percent to £12.58, while Berkeley Group Holdings (LSE: BKG) topped the 250 as it added 4.67 percent to £16.14.

Bovis Homes (LSE: BVS) was up 4.07 percent to 805p, while Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV) was 2.77 percent higher to 945p and Hammerson gained 2.14 percent to £12.40.

On the other hand, property investors Quintain Estates & Development (LSE: QED) had the worst day on the 250 as it dropped 9.62 percent to 817p.

Equities markets were lower in London on Monday, but the declines were not nearly as big as those seen in Asia on the session. The FTSE 100 was 0.9 percent lower to 6,058.7, while the FTSE 250 fell 1.7 percent to 10,857.9. The 100 was below the 6,000 level for the first time since October during part of the session but was able to regain some of those losses as the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up slightly as the London session closed.

Miners and the oil sector suffered losses as commodities prices fell. Xstrata (LSE: XTA) fell 1.4 percent to £23.32, while Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ) dropped 2.3 percent to £10.61 and Vedanta Resources was 3.1 percent lower to £11.80.

Among oil companies, Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSA, RDSB; NYSE: RDS A, RDS B) was down 0.8 percent to £16.21. BP (LSE: BP; NYSE: BP; TYO: 5051) fell 1.1 percent to 511½p. Meanwhile, Cairn Energy (LSE: CNE) dropped 2.7 percent to £15.49, making it more likely that it will be delisted from the FTSE after tomorrow’s review.

British Airways (LSE: BAY; NYSE: BAB), which usually benefits from lower oil prices, still dropped 6.6 on the day to 497p on several issues, including a possible loss of earnings if an “open skies” agreement allows more carriers to fly trans-Atlantic routes out of Heathrow.

In the banking sector, HSBC (LSE: HSBA; NYSE: HBC; Euronext: HSBC; SEKH: 005) bucked the general losing trend to add 1.1 percent to 896p after it said that its pre-tax profits were up 4 percent in its full-year report.

London equities markets were lower on Thursday, mainly on declines in financial sectors. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.2 percent to 6,136.5. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was 18.6 points lower to 10,323.1.

Losers among financial institutions included HSBC, down 0.8 percent to £10.05. Also lower were Northern Rock, which fell 0.9 percent to £11.91 and Bradford & Bingley, 1.5 percent lower to 466p. Alliance & Leicester dropped 1.8 percent to £11.09. Ironically, life assurer Prudential, which sent the sector lower when it blamed its predicted losses in the second half on a loss in its internet bank, Egg, itself added 0.9 percent on the day to 635p.

In the tobacco sector, Imperial Tobacco was 0.4 percent lower to £18.24 on a downgrade from “buy” to “neutral” from Goldman Sachs.

The oil sector was lower even in the face of expected cuts in production from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Companies. Royal Dutch Shell dropped 0.6 percent to £18.14, while BP fell 1 percent to 595p.

Vodafone declined 0.6 percent to 128p on news from the European telecommunications sector. Nokia was down on the session, and there were worries that an offer from Telefonica to not charge for incoming calls to customers traveling in Europe could set off a tariff war.

The pharmaceuticals sector saw advances as GlaxoSmithKline added 1 percent to £14.90 and AstraZeneca was 1.5 percent higher to £34.74, its highest share price in nearly five years.

In London on Friday, the FTSE 100 closed up 1.7 percent to 5,655.2, while the FTSE 250 added 2.4 percent to 9,024.7 on a volume of 2.6 billion shares traded. Despite the gains, the 100 closed out the week 1.9 percent lower overall, while the 250 lost 4.5 percent during the week.

Banks contributed to Friday’s gains, with an upgrade from “underweight” to “neutral” from Merrill Lynch, which said that with global economies growing and inflation under control, banks continued to be in a growth phase. HSBC added 1.2 percent to 934p, Royal Bank of Scotland was up 2.6 percent to £17.86, HBOS gained 3.1 percent to 965p on positive comments from Credit Suisse, and Northern Rock advanced by 3.8 percent to £10.05.

Miners also did well. Among the blue chips, Xstrata added 4.3 percent to £18.93 and Anglo American was up 4.9 percent to £19.36. Mid-caps also saw advances, as Lonmin gained 6.4 percent to £23.90, while Vedanta advanced by 7.2 percent to £12.05.

In the insurance sector, Aviva added 2.3 percent to 729½p on rumors that hedge funds were looking at the company’s shares. Meanwhile, fund manager Man Group advanced by 2.7 percent to £23.42 on an upgrade from “overweight” to “buy” from Bridgewell Securities.

London equities markets were mixed on Monday as the FTSE 100 dropped 0.4 percent to 4,067.1 but the FTSE 250 added 0.24 percent to 10,132.3, which was record high.

A major factor in the decline in the 100 was the oil sector, which saw shares drop in value after crude oil prices fell substantially on the news that a letter from the Iranian president had been delivered to US President George W. Bush which seemed to indicate that Iran is willing to discuss compromises over its controversial nuclear development program. BG Group dropped 2.14 percent to 753½p and BP was down 1.4 percent to 675p.

The mining sector, on the other hand, saw advances. Xstrata added 4.9 percent to £23.65 on the news that Teck Cominco had offered $16 billion for Canadian nickel miner Inco. This disclosure brought about speculation that Xtrata could bid for another Canadian miner, Falconbridge. Xstrata already owns 19.9 percent in Falconbridge and was said to be preparing an offer when Inco bid $10.8 billion for the company.

Among banks, HSBC was up 1.4 percent to 979p after strong activity in Hong Kong overnight.

Marks & Spencer was steady at 620p on the news that Brandes had reduced its holdings in the retailer from 12.7 percent to 11.9 percent.

In the real estate sector, British Land was up 1.8 percent to £13.32 on a recommendation from Cazenove.