Miners took the London equities markets higher on Monday as the FTSE 100 added 0.2 percent to 5,890.2 and the FTSE 250 gained 0.1 percent to 9,799.5. Retailers also saw gains.

The mining sector, which has been on the decline recently, was up at least partly on talk that a Brazi’s CVRD had said it was interested in linking up with Xstrata to break up Anglo-American. Xstrata added 2 percent to £22.05. Anglo-American and Vedanta Resources each were 3 percent higher, to £21.75 and £12.58 respectively. Kazakhmys gained 4.9 percent to £12.66.

PartyGaming was the biggest winner on the 100, adding 6 percent to 106p on the hope that the US senate will not act on a bill outlawing online gambling before elections in November.

Among retailers, Marks & Spencer was 0.3 percent higher to 626p after Deutsche Bank increased its target share price to 750p in anticipation of a positive interim report, due November 3. William Morrison added 0.5 percent to 232p after Deutsche Bank raised the supermarket chain’s recommendation to “buy”. Kingfisher was also up, by 1.4 percent to 247p, on positive comments from Goldman Sachs.

Defense contractor Chemring debuted on the 250 by adding 5.5 percent to £13.93, at least partly on talk that BAE Systems is interested in making a bid. BAE, however, dropped 1 percent on the session to 380¾p.

The FTSE 100 ended the day 0.9 percent higher on Thursday, at 5,929.5. It was the fourth day of gains in a row for the blue-chip index, during which time it has gained 3.6 percent, or over 210 points. The FTSE 250 was also up on the day, gaining 0.8 percent to 9,362.

Earnings reports in several sectors helped stocks to advance. Rolls Royce added 5 percent to 442¾p on better than expected half-year results that had Numis Securities raising the target share price on the airplane engine manufacturer from 475p to 525p. Fund manager Amvescap also was higher, by 4.1 percent to 522½p, after releasing its quarterly report. Retailer Kingfisher added 3.5 percent to 244¾p, while Centrica was up 0.1 percent to 292¾p.

But not all advances on the day were related to earnings reports. SAB Miller added 1.5 percent to £10.44 on a strengthening of the South African rand. The brewer makes a substantial amount of its money in South Africa.

Miners were up on higher copper prices and on upgrades from UBS. Kazakhmys was up 6.4 percent to £12.61, while Antofagasta gained 4.8 percent to 416½p and Vedanta Resources added 4.7 percent to £13.21. Xstrata was 5.2 percent higher to £21.41 on the news that it will purchase another 5 percent of Canadian nickel producer Falconbridge, for which it has made a bid.

In the pharmaceutical sector, AstraZeneca was 3.3 percent lower to £13.75 on a disappointing outlook statement that was issued along with its quarterly report.

The equities markets in London were lower on the day, with the FTSE 100 dropping 0.4 percent to 6,083.4 and the FTSE 250 declining by 0.3 percent to 10,108.6. Part of the declines were accounted for by a general lack of interest ahead of a new interest rate decision by the US Federal Reserve.

The retail sector was strong on the day. Electricals retailer DSG International added 7 percent to 207¾p for the biggest gain in the FTSE 100 on the day after it said that profits for the fiscal year to be higher than had been expected due to better sales in the second half of the year. Elsewhere in the sector, GUS added 1.6 percent to £10.71 and Next was up 2.3 percent to £17.66. Helped by bids rumors, Kingfisher added 2.1 percent to 243½p.

Among insurers, Prudential added 1.2 percent to 660p on rumors that rival Aviva was interested in a merger, based on a set of answers to “frequently asked questions” issued at Aviva’s annual meeting of shareholders. Analysts pointed out, however, that Takeover Panel rules stipulate that Aviva cannot offer another bid until September unless the two companies mutually agree to a deal. Aviva was down 0.3 percent on the day to 802p.

There were declines in the oil and pharmaceuticals sectors. BP dropped 1.2 percent to 674½p, while GlaxoSmithKline was down 1 percent to £15.40.

In London on Tuesday, the equities markets were up on the day with the FTSE 100 adding 0.6 percent to 6105.6. The FTSE 250 was up just marginally but still managed to close at an all-time high of 10,135.4.

In the telecommunications sector, Vodafone added 3.2 percent to 130p as Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein said that the sale of Vodafone’s share of Verizon Wireless, said to be close, could realize as much as $40 billion to $50 billion. Elsewhere in the sector, Carphone Warehouse gained 1.4 percent to 359¼p after Bear Stearns said that it could jump up to the FTSE 100.

In the retail sector, Marks & Spencer was up 1.1 percent to 627p on the possibility that a share buyback will be announced later this month when full-year earnings data are announced. Meanwhile, home improvement retailer Kingfisher also gained 1.1 percent, helped by new data from the Land Registry that home sales were up by one-third in the first quarter of the year. UBS raised Kingfisher’s rating to “buy” from “neutral” and set its target share price at 285p. Woolworths added 2.3 percent to 33½p after Deutsche Bank said it thinks the retailer’s profits will be better next year.

Confectioners Cadbury Schweppes was up 0.9 percent to 550½p on new rumors that US companies Kraft and Hershey are both interested in bidding for the company.

The London equities markets were up on the day Friday, with the FTSE 100 up 0.9 percent to 6,091.7 and the FTSE 250 gaining 1.52 percent to 10,017.9. It was the first time the 250 has closed above 10,000. The 100 added 1.1 percent during the week, while the 250 was up 2.3 percent on the week.

The banking sector made news as rumors spread that Alliance & Leicester was in takeover talks with Spanish bank Santander. Despite both banks denials, Alliance & Leicester ended the day with a gain of 6.95 percent to £12 after having gone as high as £12.77 earlier in the day.

Retailer Marks & Spencer added 3.3 percent on the day to 620p on talk of a possible share buyback. It was also rumored that M&S will announce plans for a store remodel program when it releases its full-year report later in the month. Elsewhere in the sector, Kingfisher added 2.7 percent on the day to 237p on bid rumors. On the other hand, Matalan dropped 1.4 percent to 187¾p on a lowered target share price, down to 105p, from Credit Suisse.

In the telecommunications sector, testing company Spirent gained 3.26 percent to 47½p on comments that its low share price makes it an attractive bid target.

Pubs operator Greene King was up 9.9 percent to 826½p on a Merrill Lynch upgrade to “buy”.