British Airways was 1.9 percent higher to 377p in London on Monday as the government in the UK lowered its alert level from “critical” to “severe” after the arrest last week of a number of individuals who were said to have planned to bomb flights from London to the United States. The gain helped the FTSE 100 add 0.8 percent to 5,870.9 and the FTSE 250 to gain 0.5 percent to 9,303.9. Volume was extremely low at fewer than 2 billion shares traded on the session.

After a 10 percent decline on Friday, fund manager Schroders was 6.5 percent higher to 929p.

Among banks, Lloyds TSB was up by 1.5 percent to 514½p as Goldman Sachs took Lloyds off its “conviction sell” list but still maintined its “sell” recommendation. Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch added Barclays to its list of top picks and reiterated its target share price of 878p. Barclays was up 2.1 percent to 649p on the session.

Shares in property companies were up, led by British Land, up 1.1 percent to £13.75 ahead of quarterly results due on Tuesday.

Among decliners on the day was BT Group, which was 0.9 percent lower to 240½p after a downgrade by Cazenove from “outperform” to “inline” following on a profits warning issued last week by Deutsche Telekom. Also down on the day was PartyGaming, which dropped 3.5 percent to 105¼p.

Equities markets in London were up on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 adding 0.9 percent to 5,932.1 and the FTSE 250 gaining 0.5 percent to 9,394.0. Volumes were still low, at 2.4 billion shares traded during the session.

Leading the leaders among blue-chips was ITV, which was up 4.6 percent to 101½p. The gains came amid rumors that the broadcaster’s chief executive will step down. ITV has been in focus recently over falling advertising revenues.

Cadbury Schweppes added 3.2 percent to 537½p even though it admitted that a recent incident that resulted in the contamination of some of its chocolate bars with salmonella will cost the company £20 million. The gain came on investor relief that the costs were only half the €40 million named in speculation.

Despite gains overall on the day, there were some significant declines in individual stocks. Corus dropped 3 percent to 415p on a warning from UBS that the industry as a whole is on the decline and a cut in the steel maker’s rating from “buy” to “neutral”.

A downgrade also hurt BSkyB. Citigroup downgraded the satellite broadcaster to “sell”, saying that new competition could have an impact on margins. BSkyB was 0.8 percent lower to 551p. In the banking sector, Lloyds TSB dropped 1.1 percent to 528p after Dresdner Kleinwort dropped its rating to “reduce”.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, GlaxoSmithKline fell 1.8 percent to £14.38 after going ex-dividend.

The London equities markets were higher on Thursday, helped out by better performance yesterday and today in the New York markets. The FTSE 100 added 1.99 percent to 5,791.5, while the FTSE 250 gained 1.1 percent to 9,303.5. There was a bit more activity, with 2.8 billion shares trading hands during the session.

In the banking sector, Lloyds TSB was up 2.3 percent to 529p amid rumors that Citibank was going to make an offer. HBOS advanced by 0.3 percent to 940p when Morgan Stanley successfully placed 12.5 million shares at that price on behalf of an institutional client.

Miners saw gains as Citigroup predicted that there would be further consolidation in the sector and as metals prices went higher. Xstrata gained 5.8 percent to £19.88, while Kazakhmys was up 5.9 percent to £11.76 and Vedanta Resources added 6.7 percent to £13.36.

The utilities sector, on the other hand, was down on the session. British Energy fell 0.4 percent to 671p, while Drax Group dropped 2.4 percent to 824p after the government released proposed quotas for the second phase of its Emissions Trading Scheme and ahead of its first-half trading report. The government plan allots Drax between 1 million and 1.5 million tonnes less in free allowances for emissions than had been expected.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, AstraZeneca was up 3.5 percent to £32.42 on an upgraded recommendation to “add” on better sales than expected for several of its products.

PartyGaming added 0.6 percent to 114¼p as rumors circulated that it will purchase a sports betting company.

London equities markets were mixed on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.2 percent to 5,506.8, mostly on declines in the oil sector, while the FTSE 250 added 0.7 percent to 8,782.2. 3.3 billion shares were traded on the day.

Homebuilders were mixed on bids rumors. Crest Nicholson was up 3.6 percent to 505p on speculation that one of its rivals would purchase the 23.4 percent of its shares now held by Heron International. Bovis Homes was the most mentioned possible buyer, sending its shares 2.2 percent lower to 779½p. However, some analysts see either George Wimpey or Barratt Developments as more likely bidders for the shares. Wimpey added 2.7 percent on the day to 428½p, while Barratt gained 1.1 percent to 868p.

In the banking sector, Lloyds TSB added 2.4 percent to 515p on an upgrade to “overweight” and an increase to 611p in its target share price by Morgan Stanley.

Bid rumors in the pharmaceuticals sector sent AstraZeneca 2. 5 percent higher to £30.16 on a revival of talk that Novartis will make an offer. The feeling of some analysts is that these rumors have gained new currency due to the bidding war over German drug maker Schering.

In the oil sector, BP lost 1.3 percent to 586p. Royal Dutch Shell declined by 1.8 percent to £17.35, while BG Group was down 3.3 percent to 635p. Meanwhile, Tullow Oil dropped 2.3 percent to 300¾p even though rumor had it that Royal Dutch Shell might be planning a bid.

Banks helped the London equities markets higher on Thursday as the FTSE 100 added 0.45 percent to 5,749.7 and the FTSE 250 was up 0.1 percent to 9,310.4. The market was quiet on the day, with only 2.8 billion shares traded.

The mining sector was down on the day, providing the three biggest losers on the 100 as metals prices dropped. Rio Tinto lost 3.1 percent to £28.71, while Kazakhmys was down 3.3 percent to £10.98 and Xstrata closed 3.4 percent lower at £20.57.

Corus was up 1.8 percent to 398p on rumors out of Russia that the owner of Chelsea football club is seeking a minority stake in the steel company.

In the homebuilding sector, McCarthy & Stone added 2.8 percent to 787½p on rumors that the retirement home builder has received a bid worth 900p per share.

In the banking sector, Alliance & Leicester added 2.1 percent to £12.05 after Credit Agricole sold part of its stake in Greek bank Emporiki. CA said recently that it is thinking about bidding for A&L. Lloyds TSB was up 2.4 percent to 515½p on rumors that it might raise its dividend as soon as next year. Royal Bank of Scotland also added 2.4 percent on the day, to £17.65.

London equities markets were down substantially again on Monday, with the FTSE 100 losing 1.2 percent to 5,841.3 and the FTSE 250 falling 2.6 percent to 9,557.3. It was the fifth session of losses in a row for the 100.

The mining sector accounted for a substantial amount of the declines. Xstrata and Kazakhmys each lost 8.4 percent, to £22.08 and £12.04 respectively. Xstrata is said to be looking for a way to fund an offer of £9.4 billion for Canadian miner Falconbridge. Elsewhere in the sector, Antofagasta dropped 6.9 percent to £22.73, while BHP Billiton was down 5.6 percent to £11.02.

The steel sector also saw losses as Anglo-Dutch group Corus was down 3.7 percent to 421¼p after US investor Brandes said that it has reduced its holding in the company from 4.8 percent to 3.79 percent.

Retailer Next was also down, by 0.3 percent to £17.45 even though Man Securities raised its target share price for the company from £19 to £22.50 before Next’s trading update, due on Wednesday.

Among banks, Lloyds TSB added 0.8 percent to 510p on a possible dividend yield of 6.7 percent.

The telecommunications sector had a good day. Vodafone, which had UBS hike its target share price to 153p and issue a “buy” recommendation, was up 1.2 percent to 125¼p. Meanwhile, BT Group gained 2.6 percent to 216p on rumors that it will have a smaller-than-projected pension fund deficit when it issues its full-year report on Thursday.

The London equities markets ended lower on the day Thursday on sell-offs in the mining sector and declines in oil as crude prices fell. The FTSE 100 was down 0.73 percent to 6,060 and the FTSE 250 dropped 0.72 percent to 9,925.6.

Some of the biggest gainers on the day were in the online gaming sector. The advances came after the American Gaming Association recommended that the US Congress undertake a one-year study to determine whether it would be better to legalize and regulate online gambling rather than to try and outlaw it. The significance of the recommendation, according to some analysts, is that this was the first indication that the AGA would support online gaming.

BetOnSpsorts was up 5.2 percent to 169p, PartyGaming added 4.6 percent to 152¾p, 888 Holdings gained 2.95 percent to 244p, and Sportingbet rose by 2.4 percent to 431p.

In the banking sector, Lloyds TSB was up 0.2 percent to 533p after ABN Amro reiterated its “trading buy” recommendation on the bank, saying that the same factors that allowed it to add 9 percent to revenues in the last half of last year were still operative presently.

Miners lost ground on the news that China had increased interest rates. Antofagasta dropped 4.4 percent to £23.58, while Anglo-American was down 3.4 percent to £23.34 and Xstrata declined by 3.2 percent to £20.15.

In the oil sector, meanwhile, Royal Dutch Shell’s B shares were down 2.2 percent to £19.93, BP dropped 2 percent to 683½p, and Cairn Energy was off 1.5 percent to £23.57. Besides the decline in crude oil prices, the news from China on interest rates was also a factor in the sector’s retreat.

In London on Wednesday the FTSE 250 went above 10,000 for the first time although it ended just below that level at 9,997.6, a gain of 0.3 percent on the day. The FTSE 100 also added 0.3 percent on the day to close at 6,104.3. The 100 benefited from gains in the financial sectors, while homebuilders helped the 250 into record territory.

There were declines on the day, however. British Energy dropped 4.6 percent to 682p after the price of European carbon dioxide emission credits dropped. And EMI was down 0.95 percent after recent gains when Merrill Lynch said that the benefits of a possible merger with US company Warner Music has now been incorporated into its share price. EMI closed at 285¾p.

Among financial companies, fund management group Amvescap gained 8.7 percent to 624p on a much better than anticipated first-quarter earnings report. Among banks, Lloyds TSB added 1.5 percent to 532p on a comment from Deutsche Bank that its dividend could increase next year, along with a reiteration of its “buy” recommendation and its 610p target share price.

Homebuilders were up on more rumors of mergers. Crest Nicholson was up 3.4 percent to 532½p on speculation that Bovis Homes Group is interested in buying the 23.3 percent the company currently owend by Heron International. Bovis added 0.3 percent to 908p on the talk.

Carphone Warehouse gained 5 percent to 338¾p after it’s house broker upgraded it to “outperform” and raised its target share price to 420p, a rise of 68 percent. It figures that the company’s recently launched bundled internet/phone service could increase profits by a significant amount in the next few years.

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.

In London on Friday the FTSE 100 added 0.8 percent to 6,132.7, a five-year high. The 100 was up 1.7 percent in the holiday-shortened week. The FTSE 250 was up 0.6 percent for the day and 1.8 percent on the week to close at 9,950.8.

Miners and oil were both instrumental in the day’s gains. Copper prices on the rise again after Thursday’s declines helped Antofagasta up by 5.1 percent to £24.68, its highest-ever share price. Elsewhere in the sector, Xstrata added 4.6 percent to £20.87 and Kazakhmys gained 4.3 percent to £12.39.

In the oil sector, Royal Dutch Shell was up 2.2 percent to end the day at £20.43.

Bid rumors led to gains in several sectors. Among banks, Alliance & Leicester gained 0.7 percent to £11.54 on talk that French bank Crédit Agricole would offer for A&L, possibly as soon as Monday. Elsewhere in the sector, Lloyds TSB added 0.8 percent to 530½p on renewed talk of a possible bid from Citigroup.

Gcap Media gained 8 percent to 262½p after Oriel Securities said that GCaps collection of radio stations would be an attractive acquisition.

Homebuilder Wilson Bowden added 1.7 percent to £15.72, also on bid rumors.

Shire Pharmaceuticals was up 2.3 percent to 878p after it was announced that the US Food and Drug Administration is still looking at a request that generic versions of Shire’s hyperactivity drug Adderall be subjected to rigorous testing.

Medical devices manufacturer Smith & Nephew gained 3.5 percent to 518½p ahead of its quarterly earnings report, due next Thursday.