In London on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 added 0.96 percent to 6,677.7 and the FTSE 250 gained 1.51 percent to 11,538.

The big gainer on the 100 was brewer Scottish & Newcastle (LSE: SCTN), which jumped 18.77 percent to 756p after Carlsberg (OMX: CARL A, CARL B) and Heineken (Euronext: HEIA) said they are in talks concerning forming a consortium to make a bid for the UK brewer.

Elsewhere in the sector SAB Miller (LSE: SAB) added 2.3 percent to £14.62.

Among retailers, supermarkets also saw gains.

Tesco (LSE: TSCO) was 1.9 percent higher to 475p, while Wm Morrison (LSE: MRW) gained 4.09 percent to 298.75p.

Elsewhere in the retail sector, sporting goods retailer Sports Direct (LSE: SPD) was up 10.99 percent to 156.5p for the best day on the 250.

Other gainers included food processor Tate & Lyle (LSE: TATE), which was 7.63 percent higher to 455p, and Imperial Tobacco Group (LSE: IMT) with a gain of 4.31 percent to £23.97.

In the banking sector, Northern Rock was back in the losing column dropping 7.16 percent to 207.5p for the worst day on the 100.

Miner Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) fell 1.47 percent to £43.54 after it said iron production dropped 2 percent in the quarter ending September 30 from the previous quarter.

In the oil sector, BP (LSE: BP; NSYE: BP; TYO: 5051) was 1.2 percent lower to 619.5p.

In London, the FTSE 100 dropped 1.28 percent on Monday to 6,644.5 while the FTSE 250 fell 1.18 percent to 11,439.9.

The oil sector was higher on higher prices and on continued tensions between Turkey and Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq.

Royal Dutch Shell’s (LSE: RDSA, RDSB; NYSE: RDS.A, RDS.B) B shares added 0.69 percent to £20.55 while it’s A shares gained 0.54 percent to £20.56.

BP (LSE: BP; NYSE: BP; TYO: 5051) was up 0.57 percent to 622.5p while Venture Production (LSE: VPC) jumped 4.29 percent to 766.5p.

The biggest gainer on the 100 was chemicals group Johnson Matthey (LSE: JMAT) added 9.92 percent to £18.40.

On the other hand, the worst performance on the 100 was turned in by Northern Rock (LSE: NRK), which dropped 20.86 percent to 216.25p after saying that while it is talking to several possible bidders, the talks are in an early stage.

Elsewhere in the banking sector, Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL) was down 5.81 percent to 754p.

Brewer SAB Miller (LSE: SAB) fell 4.72 percent to £14.13 after it said that while volume is up overall, sales have been slow in Latin America.

Over on the 250, the best performer on the day was online auctioneer QXL Ricardo (LSE: QXL), which added 4.58 percent to £12.55.

Holding company Rank Group (LSE: RNK) was the biggest loser of the day on the 250, where it fell 12.20 percent to 109.75p.

London’s markets were higher Wednesday, with the FTSE adding 0.41 percent to 6,306.2 and the FTSE 250 gaining 0.07 percent to 11,219.7.

Aerospace and defense group BAE Systems (LSE: BA) had the best day on the 100, adding 3.18 percent to 478.25p, while engineering and construction firm AMEC (LSE: AMEC) was the best performer on the 250 with a gain of 4.5 percent to 731.5p.

The chemicals sector was higher.

Johnson Matthey (LSE: JMAT) was up 2.3 percent to £16.03, while Reckitt Benckiser (LSE: RB) added 2.74 percent to £27.39.

British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS; AMEX: BTI; KLSE: BAT) gained 2.57 to £16.79, which consumer goods retailer Home Retail (LSE: HOME) was up 2.5 percent to 410.75p.

Carphone Warehouse (LSE: CPW) added 3.38 percent to 352p on the news that it will jump from the 250 to the 100 beginning on September 24.

Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW) and Taylor Wimpey (LSE: TW) will also reportedly be promoted to the 100. Insurers saw declines on the day.

Standard Life (LSE: SLET) fell 1.2 percent to 288.75p, while Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) was the worst performer on the 100 with a drop of 2.27 percent to 133.4p.

Pest control group Rentokil Initial (LSE: RTO; OTC: RTOKY) was 1.29 percent lower to 168.7p, while media group ITV fell 1.51 percent to 111p after it said it would sell assets and cut jobs to increase core output.

Brewer SAB Miller (LSE: SAB) was down 1.7 percent to £13.28.

The biggest loser on the 250 was International Personal Finance (LSE: IPF), with a decline of 4.78 percent to 224.25.

The London markets were higher Thursday.

The FTSE 100 added 1.3 percent to 6,212 and the FTSE 250 was 1.91 percent higher to 11,099.5.

Property developers and investors were mixed on the session. While Liberty International (LSE: LII) was 3.78 percent higher to £11.80, Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV) was 0.22 percent lower to 903p.

Retailers saw declines.

Kingfisher (LSE: KFG) fell 0.24 percent to 207p and DSG International (LSE: DSGI) was the worst performer on the 100 with a decline of 1.59 percent to 154.8p.

In the oil sector, BG Group (LSE: BG; NYSE: BG) had the best day on the 100, gaining 4.27 percent to 782p as oil prices rose.

Still, oil refiner Hunting (LSE: HTG) was the worst perfomer on the 250, dropping 7.28 percent to 700p.

Other gainers on the day included pubs operator Enterprise Inns (LSE: ETI), which added 3.17 percent to 634.5p.

Brewer SAB Miller (LSE: SAB) was 3.51 percent to £13.26.

London’s markets were higher Thursday, although the FTSE 100 only managed a gain of 0.01 percent to 6,196.9.

The FTSE 250, meanwhile, added 0.32 percent to 10,945.7.

Property developers and house builders had a bad day on the 100.

House builder Persimmon dropped 2.30 percent to £12.23 after ABN Amro (Euronext: AAB; NYSE: ABN) reduced its target share price from £17.20 to £15.30.

Among developers, British Land (LSE: BLND) fell 2.18 percent to £12.58 while SEGRO (LSE: SGRO) was 2.4 percent lower to 529p.

Hammerson (LSE: HMSO) was the worst performer on the 100, dropping 2.45 percent to £12.75.

However, in a related sector WSP Group (LSE: WSH), which specializes in construction management, engineering, and consulting, added 3.13 percent to 676.5p.

Brewer SABMiller (LSE: SAB) was 2.78 percent higher to £12.94.

Investment manager Schroders (LSE: SDR.L) had the best day on the 100 with a gain of 4.22 percent to £13.34, while its non-voting shares (LSE: SDRt.L) added 3.32 percent to £11.53.

Among banks, Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) was up 3.98 percent to 757p.

Other banks seeing gains included Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL), which added 0.19 percent to £10.61. Lloyds TSB (LSE: LLOY) gained 0.27 percent to 553.5p, while HBOS (LSE: HBOS) was 2.05 percent higher to 898p.

In London on Wednesday the FTSE 100 dropped 1.38 percent to 6,567.1, while the FTSE 250 was 0.64 percent lower to 11,726.

The best performance on the day on the 100 came from water utility Kelda Group (LSE: KEL), which gained 2.13 percent to 889p after broker upgrades.

Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) and Citigroup (NYSE: C) both upped their recommendations on the utility, with Citigroup raising its rating from “sell” to “hold”, while JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) raised its target share price.

Pubs operator Wetherspoon (LSE: JDW) had the best day on the 250, gaining 10.99 percent to 616p after it reported higher sales and said that it is on target to meet its forecasts.

Still in the same sector, pubs operator Mitchells & Butlers (LSE: MAB) added 1.83 percent to 892p.

In a related sector, brewer SABMiller (LSE: SAB) was 1.63 percent higher to £13.10.

The worst performance on the 250 came from sports retailer JJB Sports (LSE: JJB), which dropped 7.52 percent to 233.75p.

In the same sector, clothing retailer Next (LSE: NXT) fell 3.23 percent to £18.88 on the 100.

The biggest loser on the 100 was miner Anglo American (LSE: AAL), down 3.85 percent to £31.

Fellow miner Lonmin (LSE: LMI) was also lower as it fell 3.6 percent to £36.95.

Other commodities-related groups also saw declines on the session.

UK Coal (LSE: UKC) dropped 4.21 percent to 534.5p, while in the oil sector Dana Petroleum (LSE: DNX) fell 5 percent to £11.02.

The London equities markets saw advances on Thursday, helped out by the drinks sector and the announcement that Reed Elsevier will sell one of its divisions. The FTSE 100 added 0.19 percent to 6,433.3, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.29 percent to 11,574.60.

The drinks sector was helped out by Diageo, which posted higher half-year earnings even though there were challenges in some markets and a weakening of the dollar. The maker of Johnnie Walker whisky added 2.35 percent to on the day. Brewers were also boosted by a report that InBev is talking with US company Anheuser-Busch about a merger deal. SABMiller gained 1.9 percent to £11.98, while Scottish & Newcastle was 2.3 percent higher to 579p. S&N also benefited from rumors that it could be talking with Carlsberg about a deal.

Reed Elsevier added 6.6 percent to 644½p after it said it will sell its education publishing unit. The gain came even though its full-year report on earnings and revenue was below what had been anticipated.

Defense contractor BAE Systems was 2.5 percent higher to 454p ahead of a report due next week, after Credit Suisse upped its target share price from 465p to 500p.

Plumber Wolseley was hurt after Merrill Lynch removed it from its “buy” list, dropping 2.3 percent to £13.75.

The London equities markets were mixed on Monday as only 2.5 billion shares traded hands on the session. The FTSE 100 added 0.2 percent to 6,239.9, but the FTSE 250 dropped 0.1 percent to 11,104.

In the airlines sector, British Airways added 2.7 percent to 542p as investors were relieved that a threatened 2-day strike by cabin crew members had been avoided.

Tobacco did well ahead of results due later in the week from British American Tobacco. Citigroup said that BAT could return an estimated £1.5 billion to shareholders without harm to its credit rating. The figure was much higher than the £500 million it currently returns each year. BAT gained 2.8 percent to a record high share price of £15.60. Imperial Tobacco was 0.8 percent higher, to £21.24.

Publisher Yell Group gained 1.5 percent to 608p on positive comments from Merrill Lynch.

Pubs operator Mitchells & Butlers was 1 percent higher to 686½p on reaction to the news that financier Robert Tchenguiz has increased his holding in the company to almost 15 percent.

Brewer SABMiller dropped 1.1 percent to £11.70 as Goldman Sachs took it off it’s “buy” list on valuation concerns.

J. Sainsbury also fell 1.1 percent, to 432½p, as one shareholider placed 12 million shares with Morgan Stanley. The shares were priced at 432p each.

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 UK equities markets were lower on Friday, hurt by Thursday’s losses in New York and concerns that the US economy is cooling down. The FTSE 100 dropped 1.2 percent on Friday to 5,822.3, a decline of 55 points on the week. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was 0.7 percent lower on the session to 9,784 but was off only 1.6 points for the week.

Brewer SABMiller fell 2.6 percent to 998p on data showing that a general decline in the volume of beer sold in the US is hurting its Miller brands more than others. Another factor in the decline was weakness in the South African rand. SABMiller does a substantial part of its business in South Africa.

The mining sector was especially hard hit by sell-offs on Friday as investors worried about how demand for commodities will be affected by the slowdown in the US economy. Xstrata was 2.7 percent lower to £21.13, while Anglo American fell 2.8 percent to £21.34 and BHP Billiton dropped 3.2 percent to 887p.

There were few gainers on the day. On the 250, MFI Furniture was 13.1 percent higher to 99p after it sold its retail division, which had been seeing losses. On the 100, there were just two stocks with gains on the day. Building materials group Hanson added 0.7 percent to 680½p as talk continued that Mexican company Cemex is considering a bid. The other blue-chip gainer was Brambles Industries. The pallet supplier gained 2.5 percent to 468½p.