In London on Friday, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.7 percent to 6,228. This translated to a gain of 0.1 percent for the week. Meanwhile the FTSE 250 was down 0.5 percent on the day to 11,118.6, 0.4 percent higher over the week as a whole.

The tobacco sector was higher. BAT added 1.2 percent to £15.17, while Imperial Tobacco ended 2.6 percent higher to £21.06 as Citigroup said that BAT will likely get more return to shareholders both this year and next.

In the food and beverages sector, Cadbury Schweppes added 0.7 percent to 564p on new bids rumors that had private equity interested. US chocolate maker Hershey’s was also seen as a possible merger partner after its less-than-spectacular report earlier in the week.

The leisure sector was also hit by merger talk surrounding Rank Group, which gained 1.6 percent to 226½p.

Miners were lower on the day, with Xstrata the biggest loser among blue-chip stocks as it dropped 3.2 percent to £23.47. The pharmaceuticals sector was also down, with Shire falling 1.6 percent to £10.81 on a downgrade from Citigroup.

Among banks, Lloyds TSB was 0.3 percent lower to 583½p even though HSBC issued an increased recommendation, from “neutral” to “overweight”, and set a target share price of 630p.

London equities markets were lower on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 dropping 0.8 percent to 6,215.7 and the FTSE 250 falling 0.7 percent to 11,124.5.

The tobacco sector was mixed on bids rumors. Gallaher was 0.3 percent higher to £11.38 after it was said that Japan Tobacco could be working to purchase more stock. After the close these rumors were borne out as Japan Tobacco said it had added 6.3 million additional shares. Imperial Tobacco, however, dropped 0.5 percent to £20.99, hurt by a report that it would bid for Spanish cigarette maker Altadis sometime during the year.

There were mixed results in the energy sector as well. Scottish Power was 0.1 percent higher, to 742½p. Scottish & Southern Energy added 2.2 percent to £15.60 for the largest gain of the session on the 100. Both gains came amid bids rumors. Two other energy companies were lower on the session even though they are seen as more likely targets. Kelda dropped 0.1 percent to 926½p, while Centrica fell 0.8 percent to 355¼p.

In the retail sector, Kingfisher dropped 2.1 percent to 232½p on a downgrade of its long-term credit rating by Standard & Poor’s and a lowered earnings estimate from Lehman Brothers. J. Sainsbury, on the other hand, added 0.8 percent to 424½p on rumors that Lord Sainsbury of Turnville’s 15 percent stake in the supermarket is the target of a financial buyer.

In London on Wednesday equities markets were lower, with the FTSE 100 down 0.6 percent to 6,160.7 and the FTSE 250 also 0.6 percent lower, to 11,086.

Publishers, however, did well on the session. Reed Elsevier added 1.2 percent to 582p on comments from Credit Suisse that indicated the Anglo-Dutch publisher could be the target of a leveraged buyout. Yell Group, Yellow Pages publisher, was 2.1 percent higher to 578p on mixed remarks from brokers.

In the media sector, BSkyB also benefited from broker comments, adding 1.9 percent to 582p after Tuesday’s upgrade from Morgan Stanley.

Foods retailer Wm Morrison was also higher on the session, adding 6 percent to 286¼p on better sales than expected during the holiday period.

The tobacco sector was mixed. Imperial Tobacco dropped 0.1 percent to £20.80, but British American Tobacco gained 2.2 percent to £14.91 on positive comments from Dresdner Kleinwort.

Telecommunications companies saw declines. BT was 1.2 percent lower to 316½p on a downgrade from Investec, while Vodafone dropped 2.5 percent to 145¾p and Cable & Wireless fell 2.9 percent to 156¾p.

Pubs operators were lower after the chief executive of Enterprise Inns said that the introduction of real estate investment trusts would not likely provide any benefit to shareholders in the short term. Enterprise dropped 2.1 percent to £12.99, while Punch Taverns fell 3 percent to £12.14.

The London equities markets made little headway on Wednesday as investors took profits and waited to see new data from out of the United States before spending too much money. At midday, the FTSE 100 was 0.1 percent higher to 6,315.9, while the FTSE 250 was up just 4.1 points to 11,316.6. By the end of the day the 100 had managed just a bit more, closing up 0.13 percent to 6319.

Miners were down during the day, caught up in the profit taking. Vedanta Resources dropped 4.5 percent to £11.75, while Xstrata fell 4.6 percent to £24.48 and Antofagasta was 5.2 percent lower to 489p.

Shares in tobacco companies were higher after falling on Tuesday on the news that government officials in the UK are thinking about raising the legal smoking age from 16 to 18. Imperial Tobacco added 0.9 percent to £20.55, while British American Tobacco gained 1.4 percent to £14.80.

The financial sector was up as well after UBS issued positive comments on the sector as a whole. Northern Rock was 1.4 percent higher to £12.10, while Alliance & Leicester also added 1.4 percent, to £11.69. Royal Bank of Scotland gained 1.8 percent to £20.73.

Retailers also saw gains. Next added 1.3 percent to £18.65, while DSG International was 1.7 percent higher to 198¾p.

The London equities markets were higher on Tuesday, but barely so, with the FTSE 100 adding a bare 0.04 percent to 6,129.2 and the FTSE 250 ending the session 0.6 percent higher to 10,372.2.

Friends Provident helped the 100 with its 6.7 percent gain to 207p after its third quarter report did better than had been anticipated. The life assurer also revealed plans to increase it’s market share.

BSkyB was also higher, adding 1.1 percent to 543½p on positive comments from Cazenove.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Shire was 1.7 percent higher to 956½p on the possibility that it could renegotiate a profit-sharing agreement on a new attention deficit hyperactivity disorder treatment, NRP 104. The current agreement, with US company New River Pharmaceuticals, could give as much as 67 percent of the profits to the US firm. Credit Suisse, however, thinks that they agreement will change before the new drug goes on sale in the US early next year.

In the tobacco sector Imperial Tobacco, which said it is still looking for acquisitions, was 1 percent higher to £18.57. Gallaher, the maker of Benson & Hedges and Silk Cut cigarettes, added 1.5 percent to 890p on the hope that Imperial might bid, although most analysts see an offer for Altadis of Spain as more likely.

Shares in water companies were lower on the sessioni. Kelda Group was 1 percent lower to 866p, while Severn Trent dropped 1.6 percent to £13.96.

The London equities markets were higher on Wednesday on gains in the tobacco and oil sectors. The oil sector was higher after US inventory numbers showed that stockpiles of crude oil, gasoline, and heating oil were all lower last week. The FTSE 100 added 0.5 percent to 6,214.6 percent, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.2 percent to close at 10,425.4, another new record.

Imperial Tobacco Group was 1.6 percent higher to £18.55 ahead of its full-year report, due next week. British American Tobacco, which is scheduled to release its third quarter report later on Wednesday, added 2.5 percent to £14.82 on strong results from Reynolds American. BAT holds 42 percent of Reynolds, which also learned that a US appeals court on the federal level will hear arguments concerning whether a case looking for $200 billion from tobacco companies can be conducted as a class action suit. Meanwhile, Gallaher gained 3.1 percent to 884½p on bids rumors and positive comments.

The pharmaceuticals sector was mixed after UBS upgraded the sector to “overweight”. GlaxoSmithKline added 1.5 percent to £15.11 ahead of the announcement of its third quarter results, but AstraZeneca fell 1.2 percent to £35.92.

Chipmaker Wolfson Microelectronics added 6.4 percent to 287¼p on a perceived vulnerability to bids and on an upgrade to “buy” from Bridgewell Securities. Meanwhile, software maker Misys added 2.4 percent to 205p on the news that an activist group of investors from the US had taken a 4.4 percent stake in the company and on a reiteration of a “buy” recommendation from UBS.

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, equities markets were up slightly with the FTSE 100 up by only 3 points to 5,903.4 and the FTSE 250 adding 0.3 percent to 9.513.0. These small gains added on earlier increases, with the 100 up 1.7 percent over the week and the 250 gaining 2.8 percent since Monday’s opening.

Bids news spurred gains in the media sector. It was revealed that SMG, which owns STV and Virgin Radio, is in talks with UTV sent SMG 2.9 percent higher to 72p, while UTV added 7.6 percent to 344¼p. GCAP Media was also the center of takeover talk, sending it 3.2 percent higher to 215p.

In the tobacco sector, Imperial Tobacco gained 2.2 percent to £18.18 on the news that while a US court found Altria and Reynolds American guilty of violating racketeering laws it did not impose a fine on either company. Analysts said that this outcome made it more likely that the Phillip Morris division of Altria would make an immediate bid for Imperial.

Among losers on the day was PartyGaming, which was 2.2 percent lower to 111p after ABN Amro reduced its recommendation on the online gamer from “buy” to “hold”. Miner Kazakhmys declined by 2.3 percent on the news that China has raised interest rates weighed on mining stocks, as investors were concerned that the move would have an effect on the demand for metals. Among mid-caps, Carphone Warehouse dropped 1.7 percent to 266¾p after Citigroup began coverage of the company with as “sell” recommendation.

The London equities markets were lower on Monday, as the FTSE 100 ended the day down 0.6 percent to 4,620.9 and the FTSE 250 closed at 8.981.2, a decline of 0.5 percent.

Worry over a vote in the US House of Representatives coming up this week on a bill that would make gambling on the internet illegal in the United States sent shares in internet gaming companies lower on the day. PartyGaming dropped 1.95 percent to 113p and 888 Holdings lost 3 percent to 191p. Even with a “buy” recommendation from Canaccord, Empire Online lost 10.1 percent to 82p.

Homebuilders were mixed on the day. McCarthy & Stone was up 0.9 percent to 869p on rumors that it has had inquiries from two sets of private equity groups. However Crest Nicholson dropped 0.4 percent to 498p even though there have been indications that the 23.3 percent of the builder currently owned by Heron International might soon be sold.

Bid rumors were also circulating in the tobacco sector, as there was talk that Imperial Tobacco could be readying a bid for Franco-Spanish tobacco company Altadis. Imperial lost 0.5 percent to £16.36.

Telecommunications company Vodafone lost 2.5 percent to 117½p as an attempt by shareholders to unseat the company’s chief executive seemed destined to fail.

British Airways, however, added 1.5 percent to 346½p as crude oil prices were down substantially when the first tropical storm of the season looked as if it would miss Gulf of Mexico oil production facilities.

The London equities markets were lower on Monday as banks dropped, with the FTSE 100 down by 0.55 percent to 6,098.7 and the FTSE 250 falling 0.2 percent to 9,949.2.

Alliance & Leicester was down 2.25 percent to £11.28 when a bid that had been in the rumor mill last week was not forthcoming. HBOS was down 1.65 percent to 952p and Lloyds TSB dropped by 1.6 percent to 522p on worries surrounding the domestic mortgage market.

Insurer Prudential dropped 3 percent to 637½p when Morgan Stanley placed 2.25 million shares, nearly 1 percent of the company’s stocks at 642p.

Another loser was GCap Media, down 2.86 percent to 255p on profit-taking after a gain of 19 percent last week.

Imperial Tobacco held steady at £17.60 as it was reported that it has hired two banks to advise it on a possible bid for Franco-Spanish tobacco company Altadis.

Among gainers, EMI added 5.66 percent to 294p after rumors over the weekend that it is ready to resume talks with US company Warner Music concerning a possible merger. Traders were inclined to believe the rumors, but say that there are many details to be settled before a deal can be reached, not the least of which are who will run the new company and where it will be listed.

One of the biggest gainers on the FTSE 250 for the day was drilling contractor Abbot Group, which added 5.26 percent to 340p, its highest share price ever, primarily on its newest acquisition, Songa Drilling.