London’s markets were lower Tuesday.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.45 percent to 6,614.3 while the FTSE 250 fell 0.64 percent to 11,366.2.

The oil sector was mixed as crude oil prices climbed again.

BG Group (LSE: BG; NYSE: BG) was up 2.12 percent to 914p, while BP (LSE: BP; NYSE: BP; TYO: 5051) was 0.72 percent higher to 627p.

Royal Dutch Shell’s (LSE: RDSA, RDSB; NYSE: RDS.A, RDS.B) B shares added 1.27 percent to £20.81 and it’s A shares gained 1.46 percent to £20.86.

But Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW; OTC: TUWLY) fell 0.24 percent to 624p and Dana Petroleum (LSE: DNX) was 1.86 percent lower to £12.63.

Banks were mixed as well.

Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) continued its roller-coaster ride, adding 3.35 percent to 223.5p, while Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL) gained 2.79 percent to 775p, but they were the only gainers among big banks in the UK.

Mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley (LSE: BB) dropped 3.14 percent on the session to 254.5p.

Some miners were lower, with Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) falling 2.81 percent to 829p.

Johnson Matthey (LSE: JMAT), the biggest gainer on the 100 on Monday, fell 4.73 percent to £17.53 for the worst performance on the session.

In London, the FTSE 100 dropped 1.28 percent on Monday to 6,644.5 while the FTSE 250 fell 1.18 percent to 11,439.9.

The oil sector was higher on higher prices and on continued tensions between Turkey and Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq.

Royal Dutch Shell’s (LSE: RDSA, RDSB; NYSE: RDS.A, RDS.B) B shares added 0.69 percent to £20.55 while it’s A shares gained 0.54 percent to £20.56.

BP (LSE: BP; NYSE: BP; TYO: 5051) was up 0.57 percent to 622.5p while Venture Production (LSE: VPC) jumped 4.29 percent to 766.5p.

The biggest gainer on the 100 was chemicals group Johnson Matthey (LSE: JMAT) added 9.92 percent to £18.40.

On the other hand, the worst performance on the 100 was turned in by Northern Rock (LSE: NRK), which dropped 20.86 percent to 216.25p after saying that while it is talking to several possible bidders, the talks are in an early stage.

Elsewhere in the banking sector, Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL) was down 5.81 percent to 754p.

Brewer SAB Miller (LSE: SAB) fell 4.72 percent to £14.13 after it said that while volume is up overall, sales have been slow in Latin America.

Over on the 250, the best performer on the day was online auctioneer QXL Ricardo (LSE: QXL), which added 4.58 percent to £12.55.

Holding company Rank Group (LSE: RNK) was the biggest loser of the day on the 250, where it fell 12.20 percent to 109.75p.

London’s markets were higher Wednesday, with the FTSE adding 0.41 percent to 6,306.2 and the FTSE 250 gaining 0.07 percent to 11,219.7.

Aerospace and defense group BAE Systems (LSE: BA) had the best day on the 100, adding 3.18 percent to 478.25p, while engineering and construction firm AMEC (LSE: AMEC) was the best performer on the 250 with a gain of 4.5 percent to 731.5p.

The chemicals sector was higher.

Johnson Matthey (LSE: JMAT) was up 2.3 percent to £16.03, while Reckitt Benckiser (LSE: RB) added 2.74 percent to £27.39.

British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS; AMEX: BTI; KLSE: BAT) gained 2.57 to £16.79, which consumer goods retailer Home Retail (LSE: HOME) was up 2.5 percent to 410.75p.

Carphone Warehouse (LSE: CPW) added 3.38 percent to 352p on the news that it will jump from the 250 to the 100 beginning on September 24.

Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW) and Taylor Wimpey (LSE: TW) will also reportedly be promoted to the 100. Insurers saw declines on the day.

Standard Life (LSE: SLET) fell 1.2 percent to 288.75p, while Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) was the worst performer on the 100 with a drop of 2.27 percent to 133.4p.

Pest control group Rentokil Initial (LSE: RTO; OTC: RTOKY) was 1.29 percent lower to 168.7p, while media group ITV fell 1.51 percent to 111p after it said it would sell assets and cut jobs to increase core output.

Brewer SAB Miller (LSE: SAB) was down 1.7 percent to £13.28.

The biggest loser on the 250 was International Personal Finance (LSE: IPF), with a decline of 4.78 percent to 224.25.

Markets in London were lower as well, with the FTSE 100 down 1.21 percent to 6,143.5 and the FTSE 250 at 10,998.6, a decline of 1.52 percent.

Food retailer Wm Morrison (LSE: MRW) was 2.8 percent lower to 258.5p after it removed sliced cold meats from two stores in Scotland after an outbreak of E. coli that resulted in one death.

Miners were mixed on the day.

Lonmin (LSE: LMI) led gainers on the 100 as it added 1.7 percent to £31.14, but Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) fell 1.4 percent to £31.75 and BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; NYSE: BHP; ASX: BHP) was 3.71 percent lower to £12.98.

The worst performance on the 100 came from publisher Yell Group (LSE: YELL), which was down 3.81 percent to 454.4p.

Beverage can maker Rexam (LSE: REX) dropped 3.54 percent to 504.5p, while chemicals group Johnson Matthey fell 3.73 percent to £16.27.

Two other individuals were reported to be in hospital.

Decliners on the 250 included property developer Daejan Holdings (LSE: DJAN), which was down 5.56 percent to £34.00.

Construction firm Kier Group (LSE: KIE) had the worst day on the 250, with a decline of 6.15 percent to £18.76.

British Airways was 0.5 percent higher on the 100 to 403p.

Human resources specialist Capita Group (LSE: CPI) added 0.75 percent to 739p, while in the telecommunications sector BT Group (LSE: BT.A; NYSE: BT) gained 0.81 percent to 310.5p.

Brewer Scottish & Newcastle (LSE: SCTN) was 1.31 percent higher to 580p on the possibility that it could be acquired by Danish brewer Carlsberg (OMX: CARL A, CARL B), which has been reported to have said it is in the market to purchase another beer maker.

Neither Carlsberg nor Scottish & Newcastle would comment on the reports.

London’s markets rallied Monday as the FTSE 100 added 2.99 percent to 6,219 and the FTSE 250 gained 2.71 percent to 11,184.8.

The top three gainers on the 100 were all miners, adding value after copper prices were higher.

Anglo American (LSE: AAL) was up 8.31 percent to £28.16, while Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ) gained 10.44 percent to £11.95 and Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) added 10.48 percent to 685p for the best day on the 100.

Gains on the 250 were even bigger.

In the electronics sector Aveva Group (LSE: AVV) and Micro Focus International (LSE: MCRO) were 12.69 percent higher to 901p and up 16.8 percent to 288.5p respectively, with Micro Focus having the best day on the 250.

Construction engineering group Keller (LSE: KLR) was up 16.77 percent to 940p, while investment managers Rathbone Brothers (LSE: RAT) added 12.79 percent to £13.05 and conference and convention organizer ITE Group (LSE: ITE) was 12.77 percent higher to 170p.

The biggest loser on the 250 on the session was car rental group Avis Europe (LSE: AVE), which dropped 11.76 percent to 45p.

Kingfisher, meanwhile, had the worst day on the 100 as it fell 1.63 percent to 211.5p.

Chemicals groups had a mixed day on the 100, with Reckitt Benckiser (LSE: RB) down 0.51 percent to £27.41 while Johnson Matthey (LSE: JMAT) dropped 0.82 percent to £16.90.

On the other hand, Imperial Chemical Industries (LSE: ICI; NYSE: ICI) added 2.8 percent to 642p after it said it has accepted a bid from Dutch chemicals company Azko Nobel (Euronext: AKZ; NAS: AKZOY).

In addition, German consumer goods manufacturer Henkel (FWB: HEN3) said it will purchase the adhesives and electronic materials divisions of ICI’s US unit if the Akzo deal is completed.

In London on Friday the FTSE 100 was 0.28 percent higher to 6,716.7 and the FTSE 250 gained 0.96 percent to 11,922.9.

Miners declined after Thursday’s gains, with Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) seeing the biggest loss of the day on the 100, dropping 2.1 percent to £37.30.

Elsewhere in the sector, BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; ASX: BHP; NYSE: BHP) was 1.74 percent lower to £15.27 and Lonmin (LSE: LMI) fell 0.66 percent to £42.78.

Financial services-related shares did better.

Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN; SEHK: 2888) had the best day on the 100 as it added 2.92 percent to £16.90, while asset manager Henderson Group (LSE: HGI; ASX: HGI) gained 7.95 percent to 176.5p on the 250 for the best performance of the day there.

Hedge fund manager Man Group (LSE: EMG) was 2.76 percent higher to 633.5p.

Another asset manager, Bluebay (LSE: BBAX), however, had the poorest performance of the day on the 250 as it dropped 3.35 percent to 455p.

Other gainers on the day included business services group Experian (LSE: EXPN), which was 2.27 percent higher to 630p.

Chemicals group Johnson Matthey (LSE: JMAT) added 2.7 percent to £18.28, while in the oil sector BG Group gained 2.2 percent to 877.5p.

Decliners on the 100 included engineers Smiths Group (LSE: SMIN), which dropped 1.23 percent to £11.28 and Home Retail (LSE: HOME), down 1.37 percent to 450.25p.

Both the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250 were higher in London on Monday. The 100 added 0.1 percent to 6,317.9 on gains in the oil and telecommunications sectors, while the 250 gained 0.6 percent to 11,406.5.

In the oil sector, BP was 1.2 percent higher to 541½p on an upgrade to “buy” from Goldman Sachs before the oil company presents its full-year report on Tuesday. It was rumored that BP could announce a big increase in dividends when it presents its report. Elsewhere in the sector, Royal Dutch Shell gained 1 percent to £17.24.

In the telecommunications sector, Cable & Wireless added 1.6 percent to 174¼p on a target share price of 200p from Credit Suisse. C&W has gained 60 percent since June 2006. BT Group also received positive broker comment in the form of a repeat of a “buy” rating from Citigroup, which also raised the telecom’s target share price from 315p to 335p. The remarks and upgrade sent BT 1.2 percent higher to 315¾p.

Johnson Matthey, which has interests in both precious metals and pharmaceuticals, added 6.1 percent to £15.83 on an upgrade to buy from UBS, which also set a target share price of £18. In a lengthy report, UBS said that JM will likely see five years of earnings growth in double digits, mostly from growth in its autocatalyst division as the US and Europe set higher emissions standards on diesel vehicles, as well asl from a new prostate cancer drug which is currently in the final stages of clinical trials.

London equities markets were in record territory again on Thursday as the FTSE 100 established another five-year high when it closed up slightly to 6,045.7 and the FTSE 250 added 0.2 percent to end at another all-time high. Volume was at 3.6 billion shares traded.

Utilities ere up after Deutsche Bank issued positive comments on British Energy, which gained 2.4 percent to 694p. National Grid gained 1.1 percent to 578½p, while International Power added 1.3 percent to 291¾p.

Deutsche Bank also helped Corus with an upgraded recommendation, from “hold” to “buy” and a target share price increase from 80p to 100p. The steel maker added 2.6 percent to 89¼p. In other metals, high prices helped copper miner Kazakhmys add 3.1 percent to £12.69. Platinum company Johnson Matthey advanced by 4.9 percent to £15.10.

The banking sector was mixed on bid news. Decreasing talk of an offer took Allaince & Leicester down 2.8 percent to £11.61, but Barclays was up 1.2 percent to 686p on new rumors that Citigroup is considering a bid.

Vodafone added 0.6 percent to 124½p on speculation that the mobile phone group was thinking about entering the fixed line telecommunications market.

In the insurance sector, Prudential gained 4 percent to 677 ½ p on talk that Axa might make a bid. Analysts were mixed on exactly how serious the rumors were, with some saying that some investors could gain on the mere speculation that an offer might be forthcoming.

The online gaming sector was up after indications that efforts in the US to make gambling online illegal were not gathering a great deal of support. PartyGaming added 10 percent to 142½p, while 888 Holdings gained 8.6 percent to 240p and Sportingbet was up 10.6 percent to 421p.

In London on Wednesday, the London equities markets continued to rally, with the FTSE 100 closing up 0.7 percent to 6,044.1, it’s highest close since February 2001. The FTSE 250, meanwhile, ended the day up 0.4 percent to 9,935.0, its highest close ever.

The telecommunications sector saw gains, with Vodafone up 1.5 percent to 190¼p as rumors continued to circulate that the company has nearly closed a deal with Verizon Communications to sell its shares in Verizon Wireless. Verizon discounted the speculation. Elsewhere in the sector, Cable & Wireless added 0.5 percent to 107¼p.

In the mining sector, Xstrata added 2.5 percent to £19.88 as it was reported that Campanhia Vale do Rio Doce, the largest mining company in the Americas, wanted to make a deal for the company. Another company said to be interested in Xstrata, Anglo American, gained 2 percent to £23.74. Merrill Lynch upgrades helped other miners. Rio Tinto was up 3 percent to £31.35, while BHP Billiton added 2.2 percent to £11.47. Still in the metals mining area, Johnson Matthey was up 2.4 percent to £14.40 on an upgrade from Citigroup. Aquarius Platinum advanced by 6.7 percent to 865p and Lonmin gained 2.9 percent to £28.02.

In the oil sector, BP added 1.6 percent to 675p.

Brewer Scottish & Newcastle was up 5.2 percent to 544p as rumors had several rivals considering takeover bids. One of the companies said to be interested is SAB Miller, which was down 0.9 percent on the day to £11.34.