The London equities markets were lower on Monday, as the FTSE 100 ended the day down 0.6 percent to 4,620.9 and the FTSE 250 closed at 8.981.2, a decline of 0.5 percent.

Worry over a vote in the US House of Representatives coming up this week on a bill that would make gambling on the internet illegal in the United States sent shares in internet gaming companies lower on the day. PartyGaming dropped 1.95 percent to 113p and 888 Holdings lost 3 percent to 191p. Even with a “buy” recommendation from Canaccord, Empire Online lost 10.1 percent to 82p.

Homebuilders were mixed on the day. McCarthy & Stone was up 0.9 percent to 869p on rumors that it has had inquiries from two sets of private equity groups. However Crest Nicholson dropped 0.4 percent to 498p even though there have been indications that the 23.3 percent of the builder currently owned by Heron International might soon be sold.

Bid rumors were also circulating in the tobacco sector, as there was talk that Imperial Tobacco could be readying a bid for Franco-Spanish tobacco company Altadis. Imperial lost 0.5 percent to £16.36.

Telecommunications company Vodafone lost 2.5 percent to 117½p as an attempt by shareholders to unseat the company’s chief executive seemed destined to fail.

British Airways, however, added 1.5 percent to 346½p as crude oil prices were down substantially when the first tropical storm of the season looked as if it would miss Gulf of Mexico oil production facilities.

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.

In London on Friday the FTSE 100 was lower again, while the FTSE 250 gained on the day, but both indexes were lower on the week. The 100 lost 0.2 percent on the day, 4.3 percent on the week, and is down 4.3 percent in the past two weeks, ending the day at 5,657.4. The 250 added 0.6 percent on the day but was down by 6.3 percent for the week to close at 9,192.6.

Homebuilders were up on the day after yesterday’s declines due to concerns that interest rates in the UK are about to go up. Retirement home builder McCarthy & Stone added 8.2 percent to 759½p, while Persimmon was up 4.5 percent to £12.00 and Barratt Developments gained 5 percent to 887p.

The biggest gains on the 100 came for British Airways, after it said that profits were up for the full year, helped by the first profit from its shorter routes in ten years. BA added 9.1 percent to 349½p.

The largest losses of the day came in the mining sector. With the price of metals down again, Antofagasta dropped 2.5 percent to £20.39, Xstrata was down 3.7 percent to £19.32, and Kazakhmys declined by 4.4 percent to £10.46.

Supermarket chain William Morrison added 0.9 percent to 191½p on an upgrade to “buy” from Citigroup.