The London equities markets saw little movement as a whole on Tuesday as the FTSE 100 was down by only 0.1 percent and the FTSE 250 fell fractionally to 7,891.9 on a volume of 2.5 billion shares traded.

Before its decline, the FTSE 100 hit a 4-year high of 5,471.2 earlier in the day, but losses in New York helped the early gains disappear.

BAT was the biggest loser on the FTSE 100, dropping 2.3 percent to £11.77 as investors waited to see if the Canadian Supreme Court would allow a suit worth C$10 billion against the tobacco company to continue.

The energy sector was up, however. BP ended the day up 1 percent to 699½p after reaching an all-time high of 675½p earlier on an upgrade from “neutral” to “overweight” from JP Morgan. BG Group gained 0.7 percent to 534½p.

Among oil explorers, Burren Energy rose 2.7 percent to 846p on an initial “buy” recommendation from Merrill Lynch. Tullow Oil gained 2.5 percent to 254p.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Alliance Unichem led all bluechips as it gained 3.5 percent to 870p on rumors of forthcoming bids.

Meanwhile, O2 was up 1.6 percent to 155½p on an increased revenue guidance for its main operations in the UK and an upwardly revised full-year earnings guidance on its German unit. O2 shares hit an all-time high of 157½p earlier in the day.

In London on Friday the FTSE 100 gained 0.2 percent to 5,397.8, while the FTSE 250 was up by 0.2 percent as well, to 7,853.7.

The markets were up on advances in the telecommunications sector and on the downgrade of Hurricane Rita to Category 4.

In the telecommunications sector, O2 gained 2.3 percent to 154¼p on a positive assessment by ratings agency Fitch, while Vodafone rose 1.4 percent to 147p.

The oil sector declined on the day as damage predictions ahead of Rita were decreased. BG Group fell 1.1 percent to 534½p, Royal Dutch Shell declined 1.2 percent to £19.09, BP lost 1.6 percent to 657½p, and Cairn Energy was down 2 percent to £19.77.

Elsewhere, ITV gained 1.4 percent to 112¼p as rumors continued that a group led by a former BBC director general was getting ready to bid on the broadcasting company.

Pub group Enterprise Inns added 1.8 percent to 838p on an announcement that it expects profits to meet expectations and that it will return surplus cash to shareholders through higher dividends and share buybacks.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, GlaxoSmithKline gained 2.7 percent to £14.16.