Equities markets in London were lower in Friday trade.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.3 percent to 6,466.8 while the FTSE 250 was 0.02 percent lower to 11,037.4.

Miners were mixed.

Lonmin (LSE: LMI) added 7.39 percent to £36.49 on a rise in platinum prices and on the possibility that Xstrata (LSE: XTA) might be interested in bidding.

Gold miner Randgold (LSE: RRS; NAS: GOLD), meanwhile, was up 6.96 percent to £16.60.

On the other hand Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) was 3.54 percent lower to 762.5p, while Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ) fell 3.44 percent to £14.05 after a downgrade from “buy” to “neutral” from UBS (NYSE: UBS; SWX: USBN; TYO: 8657).

Food processor Tate & Lyle (LSE: TATE) was the biggest loser by far on the 100, plummeting 27.8 percent to 402.5p after it announced a “small” loss in the first half.

Over on the 250, broker Collins Stewart (LSE: CLST) was the best performer, adding 7.59 percent to 205.5p.

Other gainers on the 250 included reinsurer Benfield Group (LSE: BFD), which was up 7.41 percent to 290p.

Dana Petroleum (LSE: DNX) gained 6.31 percent to £11.62.

Asset managers New Star (LSE: NSAM) had the worst day on the 250 as it dropped 13.33 percent to 354p on statements from its chairman that it now faces a “challenging environment” after first half profits were up by 57 percent.

Also lower were PartyGaming (LSE: PRTY) with a decline of 5.17 percent to 27.50p and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: LSE), which dropped 4.75 percent to £16.43.

London’s markets saw gains Friday, with the FTSE 100 up 0.43 percent to 6,456.7 and the FTSE 250 gaining 0.73 percent to 11,094.7.

Banks were mixed.

While Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) added 4.91 percent to 194.3p, Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL) dropped another 2.45 percent to 737p.

Energy-related shares were mixed as well.

Electricity generator British Energy (LSE: BGY) turned in the best performance on the 100 with a gain of 6.55 percent to 520.5p, but electric power transmitter National Grid (LSE: NG) was 2.38 percent lower to 759p.

Elsewhere, water utility Kelda Group (LSE: KEL) fell 3.08 percent to 864.5p.

Miners were also mixed.

Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED) added 3.39 percent to £21.35 on the 100, while over on the 250 gold miner Randgold (LSE: RRS; NAS: GOLD) was the worst performer on the 250 with a decline of 4.34 percent to £15.21.

Back on the 100, do-it-yourself retailer Kingfisher (LSE: KFG) fell 3.48 percent to 174.7 for the worst day on the blue-chip index.

Sports retailer JJB (LSE: JJB) was also lower, dropping 3.01 percent to 145p.

PartyGaming (LSE: PRTY) was up 9.47 percent to 26p for the best performance on the 250.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE: LSE) was up 6.7 percent to £18.

Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW; OTC: TUWLY) was also higher, with a gain of 5.84 percent to 607p.

Property developer Daejan Holdings (LSE: DJAN) jumped 6.38 percent to £40.17.

London’s markets were lower on Thursday.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.48 percent to 6,429 while the FTSE 250 was 1.1 percent lower to 11,013.8.

Retailers were mixed on the session, with J Sainsbury (LSE: SBRY) up 2.8 percent to 569p but DIY retailer Kingfisher (LSE: KFG) was down 5.88 percent to 181p and Home Retail (LSE: HOME) fell 5.38 percent to 373.75p.

The best day on the 100 came from cruise line operator Carnival (LSE: CCL; NYSE: CCL), which added 7.08 percent to £23.74.

Insurer Friends Provident (LSE: FP) was 4.24 percent higher to 174.7p, while in the mining sector Anglo American (LSE: AAL) gained 1.69 percent to £31.82 and Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ) was up 1.9 percent to £14.50.

Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) turned in the worst performance on the 100 once again as it dropped 27.94 percent to 185.2p.

It was followed by Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL) with a decline of 7.36 percent to 755.5p.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE: LSE) had the best day on the 250, gaining 16.10 percent to €16.87.

The oil sector saw advances.

Cairn Energy (LSE: CNE) was up 3.79 percent to £20, while Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW; OTC: TUWLY) added 4.37 percent to 573.5p.

The worst performance of the day on the 250 came from the leisure sector, where bar and restaurant operator Luminar (LSE: LMR) dropped 9.51 percent to 633p.

Mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley (LSE: BB) was down 8.61 percent to 299.75p, while public transport group Stagecoach (LSE: SGC) fell 5.85 percent to 225.5p.

London markets were higher as well on Friday and for the full week, ending with a new six-year high for the FTSE 100 and another all-time high for the FTSE 250. The 100 was 0.5 percent higher on Friday and 1.1 percent higher on the week, closing at 6,382.8, while the 250 closed at 11,522.8, up 0.7 percent on the day and 1.6 percent higher over the week.

In the energy sector, British Energy dropped 0.1 percent to 418¾p on rumors that the UK government could divest itself of part of the energy company after it reports next Tuesday. Several banks were brought in last year to consult on such a sale, but problems with some of the company’s nuclear power generators put the idea on a back burner. The government has claim on nearly 65 percent of the energy company’s net cash flow that is convertible to an equal-sized equity stake at will.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, GlaxoSmithKline added 2 percent to £14.50 on an upgraded recommendation from Bear Sterns. Meanwhile, SR Pharma added 12.1 percent over the week to 74p. There were bid rumors, but most analysts attributed the gain to the news that Pfizer and Quark Biotech are beginning clinical development on a new product licensed from SR.

The London Stock Exchange held steady at £12.82 as the deadline for acceptance of Nasdaq’s offer by LSE shareholders approached.

The London equities markets were higher on Monday, with the FTSE 100 helped out by a bid for miner Phelps Dodge by Freeport-McMoran that raised hopes of further consolidation in the mining sector. The 100 added 0.2 percent on the session to 6,204.5. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 gained 0.1 percent to 10,725.9, aided by a bid from Nasdaq for the London Stock Exchange, which was up 6 percent to £24.45 on the news.

The media sector was lower after BSkyB took 18 percent of ITV on Friday, which put a roadblock in the way of efforts of NTL to purchase ITV. BSkyB dropped 0.7 percent to 533p as investors figured that the purchase might be a good deal, while ITV was 1 percent lower to 114¼p.

Ladbrokes fell 1.9 percent to 390¾p on a downgrade from “buy” to “hold” from ABN Amro after an unsatisfactory trading update recently. Elsewhere in the leisure sector, Enterprise Inns added 2.3 percent to £11.67 ahead of its full-year report, due later in the day. Enterprise was expected to continue its share buy-back program instead of making new purchases.

The mining sector was higher after news of the Freeport-McMoran bid for Phelps Dodge. Anglo American added 2 percent to £24.45, while Rio Tinto was 2.4 percent higher to £27.32 despite the fact that there was some expectation that it might make a counter bid for Phelps. Antofagasta gained 4.1 percent to 476½p.

Despite gains early in the day in London on Tuesday, the FTSE 100 ended the day down by 0.8 percent to 6,016.5, mainly on declines spurred by worries about rising interest rates around the world. The FTSE 250 lost even more, dropping 1.3 percent to 9,743.8. Volume amounted to 3.4 billion shares traded.

The early gains came on advances in the mining sector as metals prices hit new highs yet again. Anglo American added 0.8 percent to £24.25 and Xstrata gained 1.6 percent to £20.05. Both were helped by upgrades from “hold” to “buy” from Deutsche Bank.

The oil sector was also largely higher as crude oil prices rose. Dana Petroleum was up 3.2 percent to £10.70 after Merrill Lynch upped its target share price from £11.50 to £13.50. Not all sector stocks were up, however. Burren Energy dropped 4.8 percent to 907p when Merrill Lynch downgraded its shres from “buy” to “neutral” over problems in its exploration program.

The telecommunications sector was also mixed. Colt Telecom added 4.4 percent to 70½p on renewed bid speculation. But BT Group and Carphone Warehouse both lost ground after Carphone Warehouse announced a plan to offer free broadband to UK customers. BT dropped 2.4 percent to 213p, while Carphone Warehouse was down 1.1 percent to 310p. Vodafone also declined, dropping 2.2 percent to 123½p.

In the retail sector, Marks & Spencer added 3.9 percent to 586p on the announcement that sales were up more than had been expected and on a subsequent reiteration of a “buy” recommendation from Oriel Securities.

Insurer Prudential dropped 2 percent to 654p after Axa said that it was not discussing a bid and was not planning to enter into such talks.

Meanwhile, US stock exchange Nasdaq became the largest shareholder in the London Stock Exchange when it bought out Threadneedle Asset Management’s 35.4 million shares in the LSE and also made a separate purchase of 2.7 million additional shares in the exchange. The purchases took Nasdaq’s stake in the LSE to 14.99 percent, higher than the 10 percent rumor had it that the US company was looking to acquire. The news of the acquisition only was revealed after trading had closed for the day. During the day’s session, shares in the LSE had gained 1 percent to £10.38.

In London on Thursday, the FTSE 100 again rose above the 6,000 level to close at 6,015.2, a gain of 0.9 percent that allowed the index to finish recouping the 100 points it lost earlier in the week. The FTSE 250 was also up on the day, gaining 0.4 percent to 9,855.1. Trading volume was at 3.2 billion shares.

Mining stocks played a big part in the day’s gains as Kazakhmys reported in its full-year earnings results that rising copper prices allowed its profits to rise by 53.2 percent, sending its shares up 9.3 percent on the day to £10.42. These results helped out the rest of the sector, with some miners finding record high share prices. Rio Tinto added 5.3 percent to close at a record £29.81. Xstrata also recorded a new high share prices of £18.92, a gain of 4.9 percent on the day. Antofagasta, also helped by rising copper prices, was up 5 percent to £21.60.

Mid-cap miners were also up. Randgold advanced by 7.4 percent to £10.44, while Aquarius Platinum gained 2.2 percent to 797½p. Vedanta Resources gained 7.1 percent to £13.76 had some saying that it might be picked up by the FTSE 100 in June.

Banks were up as well, as bid rumors continued to make the rounds. Alliance & Leicester added 2.3 percent to £12.17 on a report that Credit Agricole’s informal approach had been rejected as A&L looked for a higher bid. Spanish bank Banco Santander Central has also been said to be interested. Meanwhile, Royal Bank of Scotland gained 2.3 percent as well, to £18.95, as talk continued that it could soon attract a bid.

Among decliners on the day were the London Stock Exchange, which lost 6.8 percent when Nasdaq withdrew its bid for the exchange, saying that the LSE’s stock was overpriced in hopes of triggering a bidding war. Also down was William Morrison Supermarkets, losing 0.8 percent to 192½p on the news that the company’s chairman had sold 227,000 shares on 24 March, taking his stake in the company down to about 10.1 percent.

In London on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 closed up 0.3 percent to 6,007.5, the first time it has closed above 6,000 in five years. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was 0.5 percent higher to close at 9,858.6. Continued bid rumors and gains in the property sector were instrumental in the day’s advances.

Shares in property companies were up an the news that new rules on the introduction of tax-efficient property investment vehicles were less restrictive than they had been expected to be. Slough Estates gained 13.4 percent on the day to 685p, while Land Securities was up 12.9 percent to £20.80, British Land advanced by 11.9 percent to £13.00, and Hammerson added 9.2 percent.

BT Group gained 2.4 percent to 234½p on more intense rumors that a private equity consotium was going to bid, possibly offering as much as 265p per share. Elsewhere in the telecommunications sector, Cable & Wireless dropped 2.7 percent to 109¾p as bid rumors lessened in intensity.

Broadcaster ITV was up 9.4 percent to 650½p after it said it had rejected a bid from a consortium that included Apax Partners and Goldman Sachs, saying that the offer was not in the best interest of shareholders.

The London Stock Exchange dropped 3.3 percent to £11.38 when Credit Suisse downgraded it to “neutral” from “outperform”.

Bid rumors took the London equities markets higher on the day on Monday, as the FTSE 100 closed at 5,952.8, a gain of 0.8 percent and very near a five-year high. The FTSE 250 was also up on the day, by 1.7 percent to 9,591.8. Volume for the day was 3.5 billion shares traded.

In the telecommunications sector, Vodafone gained 4 percent to 129¾p. Depending on who was talking, the gain came either on an approach from a group of private equity companies or an informal bid from Verizon to purchase Vodafone’s 45 percent stake in Verizon wireless.

In metals, platinum miner Lonmin gained 8.6 percent to £24.54 as rumors continued that Russia’s largest gold miner, Polyus Gold, was thinking of offering for the company.

Airports operator BAA was up 2 percent to 830p on a report that Australian company Macquarie was interested in bidding for the company and was in talks with other companies on a possible joint offer.

In the mergers and acquisitions rumor gaining the most attention, the London Stock Exchange gained 30.6 percent to £11.49 on the possibility that Nasdaq’s offer for the LSE on Friday evening could be the start of a bidding war between Nasdaq and the NYSE group for the London exchange.

Elsewhere, pharmaceuticals group AstraZeneca was up 2.3 percent to £29.45 on positive test results for the company’s anti-cholestrol drug, Crestor. Sinclair Pharma was also up on the day, by 6.9 percent to 136p on the news that it had lowered its operating losses in 2005 and that it has raised the money to bid for French pharmaceutical company Groupe CS Dermatologie.