London equities markets were sharply lower on Thursday after the Bank of England announced that it had raised interest rates in the UK by a quarter of a percent to 4.75 percent. Most analysts had not expected the rate hike to come at this time. With 3.2 billion shares changing hands, the FTSE 100 dropped 1.6 percent to close at 5,838.4 and the FTSE 250 was 1.4 percent lower, ending the session at 9,264.3.

Sectors most seriously affected by the rate hike included mortgage banks, homebuilders, and those companies that market homes and land. Among homebuilders, Persimmon was 4 percent lower to £12.42, while Bellway fell 4.3 percent to £11.65 and Barratt Developments dropped 5.1 percent to 945p.

Among those engaged in selling property, Hammerson declined by 3 percent to £12.36, British Land was 3.9 percent lower to £13.24, and Liberty International fell by 4.3 percent to £11.04. Estate agents were also lower. Rightmove dropped 5.8 percent to 270p, while Countrywide fell 8.1 percent to 387p.

In the banking sector, mortgage banks declined on the theory that higher interest rates would mean higher house payments and the possibility that more people would not be able to meet their debts. Northern Rock was down by 1.6 percent to £10.88, while HBOS fell 3 percent to 959p and Alliance & Leicester dropped 3.5 percent to 955p.

There were advances on the day, but they were few and far between. PartyGaming added 0.5 percent to 110p on the news that it has bought internet sports betting company Gamebookers. Broadcaster ITV gained 2.7 percent to 104¼p after adding nearly 5 percent on Wednesday. Wm Morrison was 3.5 percent higher to 213p on higher sales. Citigroup raised the supermarket chain’s target share price from 215p to 240p and reconfirmed it’s “buy” recommendation.

After big declines on Monday, the London equities markets were significantly on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 saw its largest percentage gain since April of 2003, adding 2.6 percent on the day to 5,678.7. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 put on the most points on one day in its history, gaining 405.7 points, 4.6 percent, to 9,234.3.

Only six companies on the 100 declined on the day. Among those were retailer Marks & Spencer, which lost 3.2 percent to 549p on a disappointing full year report, which included only a 5 percent increase in sales at its refurbished stores. Also down on the day was mobile phone group Vodafone, which was down 1 percent to 116¾p ahead of an earnings report due next week.

Commodities prices were on the rise once again, leading to steep gains on the mining and oil sectors. Among miners, Kazakhmys was up 13 percent to £10.82. Xstrata added 10 percent to £19.42, while Antofagasta gained 9.7 percent to £20.72.

Gains in the oil sector were not as large, but were still substantial. BP and BG Group each added 4.2 percent, to 635p and 673p respectively. Royal Dutch Shell gained 3.8 percent to close at £18.78.

The real estate sector saw big gains, as well. Hammerson and Liberty International were each up 7 percent on the day, to £11.23 and £10.42 respectively. British Land gained 6.4 percent to £12.38 after it said that its net asset value had climbed 32 percent and announced that it would change over to a tax-efficient investment trust status as quickly as it could. Land Securities advanced by 5.6 percent to £17.80 on an upgrade from Merrill Lynch.