Equities markets were mixed in London on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 added 0.6 percent to 6,227.6, while the FTSE 250 fell 0.6 percent to 11,102.2.

Oil companies were higher on takeover rumors, as it was said that either Royal Dutch Shell or BP could be interested in bidding on BG Group. Shell added 0.6 percent to £17.18, while BP gained 0.7 percent to 545p and BG Group was 1.7 percent higher to 662½p.

Supermarkets were also higher on the session. Wm Morrison was up 0.1 percent to 284p on positive comments from Deutsche Bank, which reconfirmed its “buy” recommendation and target share price of 320p. Elsewhere in the sector, Tesco gained 0.3 percent to 415¼p, while J Sainsbury added 0.8 percent to 438p on talk that private equity has approached with a bid.

In other retail news, magazine and bookseller WH Smith gained 5.6 percent after it issued a positive trading statement.

Among makers of medical devices, Smith & Nephew was 2.3 percent higher to 566¾p after it announced a special dividend and held out the possibility of more cost cutting measures. Goldman Sachs said that the company, thought to be a possible bid target from private equity, would forestall such a bid. Elsewhere in the sector, Gyrus added 1.1 percent to 406¾p.

London equities markets were lower on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 down 0.2 percent to 6,204.5 and the FTSE 250 down 0.3 percent to 11,094.6. Volume was at an active 3.5 billion shares traded on the session.

The retail sector was widely mixed. J Sainsbury was 0.6 percent higher to 427p on rumors that a group of Icelandic investors had bought a stake of nearly 3 percent in the supermarket.

On the other hand, department store Debenhams was 0.4 percent lower to 170¼p after going as low as 168¾p earlier in the session on rumors that an investor has taken advantage of low its low share price to build a stake. A volume of 40 million shares in the company changing hands on Tuesday and 33 million more shares traded on Wednesday added substance to the rumors.

Electrical retailer DSG International, meanwhile, fell 12 percent to 171p on a trading statement that disappointed.

Publishers had a good day. Reed Elsevier gained 0.4 percent to 598½p, while Pearson was up 3 percent to 824½p after it was said that private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts might be interested.

In the oil sector, Royal Dutch Shell dropped 0.2 percent to £17.11 on the low price of oil.

SABMiller added 4.7 percent for the best performance on the 100, trading at £12.26. The brewer’s fiscal third quarter figures were better than had been anticipated.

The London equities markets were higher on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 adding 0.6 percent to 6,086.4 and the FTSE 250 up 0.7 percent to 10,834.1. The oil and mining sectors helped in the gains.

In the telecommunications sector, Carphone Warehouse was 7.6 percent higher to 291¾p after its chief executive told Merrill Lynch Monday night that it has gotten back some contract business from Vodafone.

Premier Foods added 6.9 percent to 301½p as rumors circulated that the private equity owners of United Biscuits would be interested in a takeover attempt. Most analysts did not credit the possibility, however, and put the gains more to the recent bid by Premier for rival RHM, which gained 5.7 percent to 377¾p. If the Premier/RHM deal goes through the company created will be the UK’s leading food producer.

In the oil sector, BP was 1.8 percent higher to 578p when UBS named it one of its top picks for next year. Meanwhile, Royal Dutch Shell added 2 percent to £18.25 after ABN Amro raised its recommendation to “buy”.

Among miners, Anglo American was up 3.2 percent to £24.55 on talk that Larry Yung was interested in further building his stake in the company. Higher copper prices sent both Kazakhmys and Antofagasta higher as well. Kazakhmys added 3.1 percent to £12.17, while Antofagasta gained 4.6 percent to 530p.

In the tobacco sector, Gallaher was 3 percent higher to 986½p on expectations of consolidation within the sector. However, SG Securities reiterated its “sell” recommendation on the tobacco company on the basis that it was an unlikely takeover target.

London equities markets were lower on Thursday, mainly on declines in financial sectors. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.2 percent to 6,136.5. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was 18.6 points lower to 10,323.1.

Losers among financial institutions included HSBC, down 0.8 percent to £10.05. Also lower were Northern Rock, which fell 0.9 percent to £11.91 and Bradford & Bingley, 1.5 percent lower to 466p. Alliance & Leicester dropped 1.8 percent to £11.09. Ironically, life assurer Prudential, which sent the sector lower when it blamed its predicted losses in the second half on a loss in its internet bank, Egg, itself added 0.9 percent on the day to 635p.

In the tobacco sector, Imperial Tobacco was 0.4 percent lower to £18.24 on a downgrade from “buy” to “neutral” from Goldman Sachs.

The oil sector was lower even in the face of expected cuts in production from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Companies. Royal Dutch Shell dropped 0.6 percent to £18.14, while BP fell 1 percent to 595p.

Vodafone declined 0.6 percent to 128p on news from the European telecommunications sector. Nokia was down on the session, and there were worries that an offer from Telefonica to not charge for incoming calls to customers traveling in Europe could set off a tariff war.

The pharmaceuticals sector saw advances as GlaxoSmithKline added 1 percent to £14.90 and AstraZeneca was 1.5 percent higher to £34.74, its highest share price in nearly five years.

London equities markets were up on Tuesday, but just barely, with the FTSE 100 adding 0.08 percent to 5,918.7 and the FTSE 250 gaining 0.01 percent to 9,761 in a late rally that brought both indices up from earlier declines. Volume was a bit higher at 2.8 billion shares trading hands during the session.

The oil sector was helped higher on the day by bid rumors. Royal Dutch Shell was said to be interested in bidding for both BG Group, which added 0.9 percent to 690½p, and for Premier Oil, which ended the session 2.1 percent higher to £10.65. Royal Dutch Shell itself gained 0.1 percent to £18.96.

Utilities ended the session lower, with the exception of Centrica, which owns British Gas. Centrica added 1.9 percent to 308¼p even though Gazprom denied rumors that it was interested in making a bid. Vattenfall has also been said to be interested. Elsewhere in the sector, Scottish & Southern dropped 0.4 percent to £12.21, while Scottish Power was 0.5 percent lower to 625½p and United Utilities fell 0.7 percent to 685½p.

In the retail sector, Next was 0.6 percent higher to £16.67 after Man Securities recommended that its clients buy on the strength of a prediction that margins will increase even if sales decline. Meanwhile, DSG International gained 0.9 percent to 209¾p on positive comments from Merrill Lynch.

Among miners, Kazakhmys added 3.4 percent to £13.31 on a repot that its half-year report will show operating profits up by 121 percent.

In a week shortened by a Monday holiday, the London equities markets ended up for both the day and the week. The FTSE 100 added 0.7 percent on Friday and 1.2 percent for the week to close at 5,949.1, while the FTSE 250 gained 1.1 percent for the day and 2.2 percent over the week to 9,702.1.

The oil sector was mixed. Premier Oil was 2.8 percent higher to £10.59 as rumors continued that Royal Dutch Shell would bid £13 per share. The talk, however, sent shares in Royal Dutch Shell 0.2 percent lower to £18.77.

Steelmaker Corus added 1.8 percent to 399½p on talk from Cazenove that it was a bids target. Meanwhile, in the mining sector, Xstrata gained 2.9 percent to £24.27 on a reiteration of Deutsche Bank’s “buy” recommendation.

Among banks, Barclays was 2.4 percent higher to 673½p on the news that its new chairman-designate bought £100,000 worth of the bank’s shares on his first day on the job.

Retailers were mixed. Next dropped 0.6 percent to £16.57 on rumors that interim results, due later in the month, could fall short of expectations. On the other hand, Marks & Spencer added 2.1 percent to 605p.

ITV was up, but only by 0.2 percent to 106p, as investors worried about declines in advertising and after a number of programs did not deliver much in the way of viewership. Comments from Bear Stearns did not inspire confidence that advertising would rebound anytime soon.

London equities markets were up on Wednesday after the minutes from the latest meeting of the US Federal Reserve seemed to indicate that interest rates in the United States are likely to remain on hold for the time being. The FTSE 100 added 0.7 percent to 5,929.3, while the FTSE 250 was 0.5 percent higher to 9,581.5.

Pubs operators were up on the day. JD Wetherspoon gained 2.5 percent to 452p, taking its gains in the past year to 60 percent. Enterprise Inns was up 3.1 percent to £10.25 after Deutsche Bank upped its target share price to £12.

Still in leisure sectors, gaming and restaurant operator Rank was 2 percent higher to 219p ahead of its half-year results, due out on Friday. Analysts look for Rank to sell Hard Rock Café and concentrate on its gaming interests.

Wolseley added 4.2 percent to £11.35 on talk that a private equity company might be preparing a bid, as well as on the idea that interest rates in the US will stay where they are at least until the end of the year. Wolseley makes 60 percent of its profits in the United States.

The oil sector was mixed. Premier Oil was up by 2.3 percent to £10.12 as bids talk continued. One of those thought to be interested was Royal Dutch Shell, which dropped 0.3 percent to £18.98.

In London’s equities markets on Thursday, the FTSE 100 was up, but only by 3.8 points to 5,900.4 and the FTSE 250 added 0.4 percent to 9,486.6 as miners and airlines saw advances but the oil sector was mostly lower.

Dropping crude oil prices sent shares in air carriers up as British Airways added 2.7 percent to 293p and EasyJet was 3 percent higher to 425½p. Lower costs for oil also helped cruise operators, as Carnival gained 6.4 percent to £21.72.

The oil sector, on the other hand, saw losses on the day as both Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group fell 1 percent, to £19.17 and 708p respectively. The exception was Cairn Energy, which added 3 percent to £20.80 on Merrill Lynch’s repeated “buy” recommendation, which cited the IPO of Cairn’s India operations as likely to send share prices higher.

Bids rumors sent the mining sector higher. Anglo American added 2 percent to £24.20 as Morgan Stanley commented that mergers and acquisitions are driving the sector and raised the miner’s recommendation from “underweight” to “overweight”. Meanwhile, Vedanta Resources gained 3.1 percent to £13.83 on positive comments from Goldman Sachs.

M & A rumors also sent Corus Group up by 3.2 percent to 407½p with the talk that Evraz and Severstal are both looking at offering for the steel maker.

Among loser on the day was SAB Miller, which dropped 2.9 percent to £10.40 when UBS lowered their recommendation on the brewer from “buy” to “neutral”.

The FTSE 100 was up by 0.5 percent to 5,678.6 in London on Wednesday as the oil sector saw gains as crude oil prices were up again. The FTSE 250, however, dropped slightly to 9,197.2. Trade volumes remained below average, with only 2.4 billion shares changing hands.

BP added 0.9 percent to 618½p, BG Group was up 1.2 percent to 707p, and Royal Dutch Shell gained 1.4 percent to £18.41. Merrill Lynch confirmed its “overweight” rating for the sector as a whole.

PartyGaming dropped 2.1 percent to 113½p. Analysts believe that the drop is due to selling of the internet gaming company’s stock, which they bought earlier this month when four of PartyGaming’s founders sold 5 percent of the company.

In the media sector, EMI added 8.4 percent to 307½p on the news that it has turned down an offer worth 320p per share from Warner Music.

Corus Steel added 1.3 percent to 434p amid rumors that it has received a bid from either Severstal of Russia or Tata Steel of India. Earlier in the week, Severstal failed to completel a deal with Arcelor.

In the utilities sector, Severn Trent dropped 3.1 percent to £11.35 and United Utilities fell 3.3 percent to 630p.

In London on Friday, trade in equities was slow again with only 2.1 billion shares changing hands during the session. The activity left the markets higher for the day, but only just, with the FTSE 100 adding 0.1 percent to 5,692.1 and the FTSE 250 up 0.03 percent, just 2.4 points, to close at 9,195.3. Both the 100 and the 250 were up for the week, by 1.7 percent and 1.1 percent respectively.

The oil sector was largely responsible for the 100’s gains on the day. Royal Dutch Shell gained 1.4 percent to £18.21, while BP was up 2 percent to 617p. Deutsche Bank put its target share price for BP at 800p, and issued an upgrade for Shell to “buy” and set its target share price to £21.

Energy companies saw advances as well, spurred on by news that in the US Anadarko Petroleum has purchased both Kerr-McGee and Western Gas Resources in separate cash deals. BG Group gained 2.7 percent to 695p, while Cairn Energy added 4.8 percent to £20.71.

SABMiller dropped 1.5 percent to 960p after comments from Merrill Lynch said that the brewer might have to cut its earnings forecasts due to continuing weakness in the South African rand, which was at a two and a half year low of 7.53 rand to the dollar on Friday. SABMiller has lost almost 18 percent since May 11.

In the construction materials sector, Wolseley added 0.5 percent to £11.55 and Hanson was up 2 percent to 651½p as the US dollar gained value in relation to sterling. Because both companies get a large portion of their profits in dollars but report earnings in sterling, those earnings show a boos when the dollar strengthens.

Persimmon gained 1.3 percent to £12.09 after UBS reaffirmed its “buy” recommendation and set a target share price of £16.35 in anticipation of the homebuilder’s half-year results, due next week.