London’s markets were lower on the dayFriday, but not nearly as steeply as they were on Thursday.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.58 percent to 6,215.2, while the FTSE 250 was down 0.44 percent to 10.984.5.

Miners posted the worst performances on both the 100 and the 250 as Anglo American (LSE: AAL) dropped 3.86 percent to £27.43 on the 100 and Aquarius Platinum (LSE: AQP; ASX: AQP) fell 7.37 percent to £13.58.

Also in the sector, Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) was down 3.43 percent to 675p, while Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED) was 3.68 percent lower to £16.22.

Online property search group Rightmove (LSE: RMV) also saw declines, dropping 6.09 percent to 547.5p, while human resources group STHREE (LSE: STHR) was 5.75 percent lower to 410.5p.

Caterer Compass Group (LSE: CPG) fell 2.81 percent to 311p.

Chemicals group Reckitt Benckiser (LSE: RB) had the best day on the 100 as it gained 3.19 percent to £26.84.

Publisher Emap (LSE: EMA) was the best performer on the 250, where it added 12.7 percent to 860.5p.

Another publishers, Johnston Press (LSE: JPR) was 4.69 percent higher to 385p.

Retailers also had gains on the 250.

GAME Group (LSE: EBQ) added 4.77 percent to 186.75p, while home shopping retailer Findel (LSE: FADV) gained 4.83 percent to 683.5p.

In the banking sector, Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) was up 3.12 percent to 793.5p.

Electric power transmitter National Grid (LSE: NG) and airplane engine maker Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR) each added 2.47 percent, to 704p and 508.5p respectively.

The London equities markets fell significantly on Thursday.

The FTSE 100 was 3.15 percent lower on the session, to 6,251.2, while the FTSE 250 dropped 3.35 percent to 11,033.4.

Insurers were in focus, as companies in the sector provided both the best and worst performances on the 100.

On the winning side, Resolution (LSE: REL) added 2.84 percent to 633.5p, while Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) fell 8.24 percent to 138.1p.

The decline for Legal & General came after it reported that margins had fallen to 3.6 percent and that its non-life unit had lost £38 million on household claims due to flooding.

L&G also disappointed when it announced a share buyback program worth £1 billion, much less than had been anticipated by analysts.

Also in the insurance sector, Friends Provident was down 6.65 percent to 181.2p as UBS (NYSE: UBS; SWX: UBSN; TYO: 8657) cut its recommendation from “buy” to “neutral”.

Other sectors seeing declines on the 100 included hotels operators, as Intercontinental Hotels (LSE: IHG; NYSE: IHG) fell 7.34 percent to £11.11.

In the telecommunications sector, Vodafone (LSE: VOD; NYSE: VOD; FWB: VOD) dropped 7.23 percent to 145p.

Airplane engine manufacturer Rolls Royce (LSE: RR) fell 6.46 percent to 496.25p after it reported that profits in the first half were down by 51 percent, affected by the weakness of the US dollar.

The biggest loser on the 250 was retailer GAME group (LSE: EBQ), with a drop of 7.22 percent to 176.75p.

In London on Tuesday the FTSE 100 fell 0.58 percent to 6,659.1, while the FTSE 250 was 0.98 percent lower to 11,801.

Food processor Tate & Lyle (LSE: TATE) had the best day on the FTSE 100, adding 4.81 percent to 599.5p on an upgrade from “neutral” to “buy” from Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS).

Meanwhile Inmarsat, the telecommunications satellite operator, gained 5.08 percent to 434p on the FTSE 250 for the best performance there.

The biggest loser on the day on the 100 was Lonmin (LSE: LMI), which dropped 3.89 percent to £38.30 on the 100 after both Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Deutsche Bank (FWB: DBK; NYSE: DB) lowered the miner‘s target share price.

On the 250, investment trust Ashmore dropped 3.51 percent to 268.25p for the worst day on the 250.

Banks saw gains.

Barclays Bank (LSE: BARC; NYSE: BCS; :TYO: 8642) was 0.48 percent higher to 732p, while Lloyds TSB (LSE: LLOY) gained 0.53 percent to 572p.

Gyrus Group (LSE: GYG), which makes and sells surgical supplies, added 2.73 percent to 469.75p.

Investment managers Schroders (LSE: SDR) fell 3.61 percent to £12.80, while its non-voting shares dropped 3.22 percent to £11.41.

Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR) was 2.83 percent lower to 548.5p after Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS; SWX: CSGN) dropped its recommendation on the airplane engine maker from “outperform” to “neutral”.

Meanwhile, Reed Elsevier (LSE: REL; Euronext: REN; NYSE: ENL; NYSE: RUK) fell 2.81 percent to 656p on the news that it is selling its Harcourt educational division to Houghton Mifflin.

The FTSE 100 ended the day 0.9 percent higher on Thursday, at 5,929.5. It was the fourth day of gains in a row for the blue-chip index, during which time it has gained 3.6 percent, or over 210 points. The FTSE 250 was also up on the day, gaining 0.8 percent to 9,362.

Earnings reports in several sectors helped stocks to advance. Rolls Royce added 5 percent to 442¾p on better than expected half-year results that had Numis Securities raising the target share price on the airplane engine manufacturer from 475p to 525p. Fund manager Amvescap also was higher, by 4.1 percent to 522½p, after releasing its quarterly report. Retailer Kingfisher added 3.5 percent to 244¾p, while Centrica was up 0.1 percent to 292¾p.

But not all advances on the day were related to earnings reports. SAB Miller added 1.5 percent to £10.44 on a strengthening of the South African rand. The brewer makes a substantial amount of its money in South Africa.

Miners were up on higher copper prices and on upgrades from UBS. Kazakhmys was up 6.4 percent to £12.61, while Antofagasta gained 4.8 percent to 416½p and Vedanta Resources added 4.7 percent to £13.21. Xstrata was 5.2 percent higher to £21.41 on the news that it will purchase another 5 percent of Canadian nickel producer Falconbridge, for which it has made a bid.

In the pharmaceutical sector, AstraZeneca was 3.3 percent lower to £13.75 on a disappointing outlook statement that was issued along with its quarterly report.

Equities markets in London were mixed on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 dropping 0.1 percent to 5,770.9 but the FTSE 250 up by 22.8 points to 9,207.2.

The aerospace sector managed gains on the day. Ultra Electronics, which supplies targeting systems for fighter aircraft, added 15.1 percent to £11 on bids rumors. BAE Systems was up by 1.8 percent to 347¼p, while Rolls Royce advanced by 1.1 percent to 411¼p.

Airlines also saw their shares advance. British Airways was up 3 percent to 368¼p on anticipation of broker upgrades after it reports its quarterly figures next month and as oil prices declined. Meanwhile, EasyJet gained 4.7 percent to 436½p.

BSkyB advanced by 2.5 percent to 544¼p, after its chief executive presented information on its new broadband business to Deutsche Bank.

The internet gaming sector did not fare as well. SportingBet dropped 3 percent to 174¾p, while PartyGaming was 7.4 percent lower to 87¼p and 888 Holdings fell 9.4 percent to 161p, all on concerns that US shareholders will sell their holdings now that the US Department of Justice is taking measures against gambling on the internet.

Other big losers included MFI Furniture, which was down 20 percent to 85p, and Colt Telecom, 23.3 percent lower to 436½p.

London equities markets were down substantially on Friday, with the FTSE 100 seeing its worst day in two years, dropping 2.2 percent to 5,912.1 and the FTSE 250 falling even more, by 2.6 percent to 9,811.8. The declines were a result of sell-offs in commodity and energy related stocks. The continued weakness of the US dollar was also a factor in declines in some sectors.

In the energy sector, BG Group dropped 3.6 percent, while British Energy declined by 2.9 percent to 665p.

Among miners, some losses were substantial. Mid-cap gold miner Randgold lost 11.6 percent to £11.96. Anglo American was down 4.8 percent to £24.25, while Antofagasta dropped 4.4 percent to £24.42. Rio Tinto declined by 4.2 percent and Kazakhmys was down by 4 percent to £13.35.

Fund managers were mixed, with those with substantial US exposure among the losers. Amvescap was down 3.4 percent to 571p. Man Group lost 2.4 percent to £25.28. Among gainers in the sector, Schroeders added 2.5 percent to £11.56 on an upgrade from “hold” to “buy” from Citigroup, which set its target share price at £12.80.

The weakness of the greenback in relation to sterling hurt companies that earn part of their revenues in dollars. Engine maker Rolls-Royce dropped 3.9 percent to 443¼p, while chemical company ICI was down 1.7 percent to 384½p.

In London on Thursday the equities markets finished higher at the end of a holiday-shortened week. The FTSE 100 added 0.4 percent to 6,029.4 and the FTSE 250 closed at 9,775.0, an advance of 0.8 percent.

Bid rumors were still common. In the telecommunications sector, Vodafone gained 3.2 percent to 128¼p, benefiting from continued rumors that US company Verizon Communications might offer for it. Meanwhile, pub and bar group Mitchells & Butlers was up substantially after a group led by Robert Tchenguiz admitted that they have approached M&B. The news sent M&B up by 7.3 percent to 497½p.

Upgrades from UBS also worked in favor of some shares. Chipmaker CSR advanced by 5.4 percent to £12.65 after UBS raised its target share price from £12.50 to £14.50. Likewise, VT Group added 4.7 percent on an increase of its target share price from 540p to 600p.

In the internet gaming sector, PartyGaming gained 4.7 percent to 151¾p ahead of a trading update due next Tuesday.

Engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce Group was up after it announced that it is now addressing its pension fund deficit with its UK pension funds. R-R rose 2.6 percent to 480p.

Miners were down after recent gains, with Anglo American losing 1.1 percent to £23.66. Banks didn’t fare much better. Northern Rock, for example, lost 1 percent to £10.98.

In mid-morning trade on Tuesday, the London equities markets were down, with the FTSE 100 down by 0.1 percent to 5,787.6 after early gains. The FTSE 250 was also down 0.1 percent to 9,321.4.

The biggest losers were in the online gambling sector. PartyGaming lost 5.9 percent on the FTSE 100 to trade at 121p while 888.com dropped 5 percent to 187¾p. 888.com trades on the FTSE 250.

On the other hand, properties firms British Land and Land Securities were up after British Land said that its net asset value and its underlying profits were both up. British land advanced by 0.5 percent to £11.91½. Land Securities saw even more of a jump in its shares, gaining 1.6 percent to £17.97.

The mining sector was up as well, with Asian commodities prices firmer. Rio Tinto gained 1.7 percent to £27.79, BHP Billiton was up 1.4 percnet to 956½p, and Xstrata advanced by 1.1 percent to £16.27.

Life assurers were up as well, with Aviva and Prudential each gaining 1 percent to 758½p and 604p respectively.

Engine manufacturer Rolls Royce gained 1.6 percent to 434½p on an upgrade to “buy” from “neutral” by Merrill Lynch.

Cadbury Schweppes also benefited from an upgrade to “buy” from “hold” and a raised target price of 620p, up from 565p, by Citigroup. The confectioners gained 1.6 percent to 566½p.