London’s equities markets were mixed Thursday.

While the FTSE 100 added 0.91 percent to 6,363.9, the FTSE 250 was down 0.42 percent to 11,172.4.

The biggest gainers on the session on the 100 were in the mining and telecommunications sectors.

Among miners BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; NYSE: BHP; ASX: BHP) was 2.61 percent higher to £14.94 and Anglo American (LSE: AAL) gained 3.27 percent to €29.08, while Lonmin (LSE: LMI) added 3.66 percent to £34.26.

The mining gains came on higher base metals prices.

In the telecommunications sector, BT Group (LSE: BT.A; NYSE: BT) was up 2.9 percent to 319p, while Cable and Wireless (LSE: CW) was the best performer on the 100 with a gain of 4.5 percent to 174.3p.

The biggest winner on the 250 was in the financial services sector, where Ashmore (LSE: ASHM) added 6.48 percent to 263p.

Elsewhere in the sector, Bluebay (LSE: BBAY) was 2.98 percent higher to 380p.

Also gaining on the 250 were construction engineers Keller Group (LSE: KLR), up 3.92 percent to £10.88.

In the oil sector oil, gas and coal services group Petrofac (LSE: PFC) added 3.47 percent to 462p.

The worst performance on the 100 came from the banking sector, where Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) dropped 4.91 percent to 639p.

Still among banks, Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL) was down 2.7 percent to 937.5p.

Property developer British Land (LSE: BLND) fell 1.88 percent to £12, while in the pharmaceuticals sector Shire was 2.5 percent lower to £12.46.

Sports retailer JJB Sports (LSE: JJB) dropped 4.37 percent to 164p, while human resources group STHREE (LSE: STHR) fell 5.34 percent to 323.5p.

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.

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 Wednesday the FTSE 100 added 1.35 percent to 6,393.9, while the FTSE 250 gained 1.96 percent to 11,455.

Electricity generators didn’t do very well on the session.

Drax Group (LSE: DRX) was down 1.89 percent to 649p, while British Energy Group (LSE: BGY) dropped 2.22 percent to 474.5p.

But engineering groups had the worst day on both the 100 and the 250.

On the 100 Smith’s Group (LSE: SMIN) fell 2.8 percent to £10.08 after it issued a flat profits outlook, blaming the US dollar on since it receives at least half of its revenues from the United States.

Meanwhile on the 250, construction engineers Keller Group (LSE: KLR) dropped 7.23 percent to 904p.

Property investment group Liberty International (LSE: LII) had the best day on the 100, adding 6.5 percent to £11.30, while SEGRO (LSE: SGRO) gained 5.9 percent to 565p.

On the 250, property investment group Minerva (LSE: MNR) was up 10.69 percent to 308p.

Unite Group (LSE: UTG), which builds, manages, and rents housing for students, was 9.4 percent higher to 419p.

Automobile insurer Admiral Group (LSE: ADM) had its best one-day advance since it began trading as it added 10.26 percent to 940p.

In financial services sectors, Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL) was 6.03 percent higher to £11.07, while broker ICAP (LSE: IAP) gained 6.04 percent to 500p.