After Monday’s holiday, London markets resumed trade on Tuesday with slightly higher volumes of 2.2 billion shares traded and small gains in both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250. The 100 added 0.17 percent to 5,888.3 after going as high as 5,921.3 earlier in the session, while the 250 was 0.4 percent higher to 9,531.8

Airlines and cruise ship operators benefited from declining oil prices, which dropped below $70 dollars per gallon. Cruise ship operator Carnival added 2.6 percent to £21.74. Among airlines, British Airways was up 4 percent to 414¼p and EasyJet gained 4.5 percent to 454½p.

Brewers were up on the day as well. Diageo added 0.1 percent to 945p ahead of its full-year report, due on Thursday. SABMiller gained 0.6 percent to £10.13. Both were said to be interested in bidding for Australian drinks company Foster’s.

Another of the day’s gainers was plumber and buildings materials group Wolseley, which added 2.2 percent to £10.89 ahead of an interim report due next month. The gains came after Wolseley lost a quarter of its value recently.

Among losers on the day was MFI Furniture Group, which dropped 4.2 percent to 85p on reports that the sale of its losing retail business in the UK ahs run into problems. Also lower was coal-fueled power station operator Drax, down 1.8 percent to 902p.

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 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.

In London on Friday, equities markets saw declines for the day but ended the week slightly higher. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.02 percent to 5,888.9, but its closing level was good for a 1 percent rise over the week. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 ended the session 0.3 percent lower to 9,431.6 but managed and 0.1 percent gain for the week.

The airlines sector saw gains over the week. British Airways was up 3 percent to 359p on the strength of an 8.7 percent gain to 425p by low-cost air carrier EasyJet, which adjusted its full-year profit growth forecast upward to between 40 and 50 percent. Earlier, it had said that profits would grow around 15 percent for the year.

Shire Pharmaceuticals added 1 percent to 811p amid talk that it could be the target of a private equity bid. UBS said that an offer of up to £10.50 per share for Shire could still make a buyer good profit.

Among steelmakers, Corus gained 4.4 percent to 451p as rumors continued that two Russian millionaires, one the owner of Russian company Severstal, are considering a joint bid.

SAB Miller dropped 1 percent on Friday to 960½p as investors feared that this weeks Florida Supreme Court ruling vacating a $145 billion (£79 billion) damages award against US tobacco companies would lead to the sale of 28.7 percent of the brewer by Altria. The concerns have arisen because Altria, which also owns US cigarette maker Phillip Morris, is free to break off parts of its holdings now that it no longer has to worry about paying any part of the damage award. Not all analysts, however, are convinced that Altria will sell its stake in SAB.

PartyGaming dropped 5.9 percent to 108p, also on legal activity in the United States. Investors in the internet gaming company are worried about a debate in the US House of Representatives, scheduled for next week, on legislation that is designed to outlaw online gambling in the US. Analysts expect the new law to pass in the House, but don’t believe that it will make it to the Senate for a vote before elections in November.

London equities markets were mixed again on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 0.5 percent lower to 5,652.3. The FTSE 250 was just slightly higher, up 0.02 percent. Trade volumes were low once again, with 2.5 billion shares changing hands as investors delayed moves until after the US Federal Reserve meets later in the week.

SAB Miller, which has been declining largely due to weakness in the South African rand, managed to gain 1.2 percent to 934p on a “buy” recommendation from Deutsche Bank, which said that despite currency issues the brewer is showing strong performance.

In the utilities sector, Centrica added 0.7 percent to 271p after ABN Amro repeated its “buy” recommendation on the stock and maintained its 321p target share price for the owner of British Gas.

The insurance sector was mixed, with Prudential up 0.5 percent to 567p as investors saw it as vulnerable to an approach after its 23.6 percent decline since it declined an offer from Aviva in March. Aviva declined by 0.2 percent to 737½p.

Miner Xstrata was down by 2.6 percent to £19.04 on concerns that it could increase its offer for Falconbridge. Phelps Dodge said Monday that it will buy the Canadian nickel miner.

Trade volumes remained low in the London equities markets on Monday, with a mere 2.5 billion shares trading hands. The FTSE 100 closed down 0.2 percent to 5,681.2, while the FTSE 250 added 0.02 percent to 9,197.1.

The mining sector was mixed. Anglo American was up 1.4 percent to £21.38 and Xstrata added 0.9 percent to £19.55 on talk that the two might merge. The rumors seem to have been spurred by an offer from Phelps Dodge to purchase Canadian miners Falconbridge and Inco. On the other hand, Corus dropped 0.5 percent to 428½p due to profit-taking.

Retailer Marks & Spencer gained 2.1 percent to 578p ahead of its first quarter trade update, which is upcoming on July 11. Analysts think that the report will be good enough to trigger earnings upgrades.

SABMiller was down 3.8 percent to 932p on currency weakness in regions where it sells its products. The brewer generates around 25 percent of its earnings in South Africa, where the rand is weak, and also has strong sales in Columbia where the peso has been struggling.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Shire Pharmaceuticals added 2.1 percent to 770½p after it was said that Swiss biotech firm Serono could be interested in bidding for the drug maker.

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.

The London equities markets were lower on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 down 0.07 percent to 5,671.6 and the FTSE 250 dropping by a substantial 1.5 percent to 9,134.8. Trade was heavy at nearly 4 billion shares on the day. Homebuilders and the oil sector were both instrumental in the declines on both indexes.

In the oil sector, Cairn Energy dropped 4.2 percent to £20.69. Among mid-caps, Dana Petroleum dropped 6 percent to 917½p. Also in stocks related to commodities, miner Kazakhmys was down 3 percent to £10.94.

Among homebuilders, Persimmon dropped 4.4 percent to £11.48, while Taylor Woodrow lost 5.6 percent to 320½p and George Wimpey was down 4.3 percent to 436½p. Crest Nicholson dropped 3.2 percent to 320¼p and Bovis Homes was down 4.5 percent to 755p. A major factor in the sector’s declines was said to be reaction to the news that a member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee had voted to raise interest rates at the committee’s meeting this month.

Telecom BT Group added 8 percent on the day to 226¼p on a positive quarterly earnings report and predications that there is more growth to come.

Among losers, brewer SABMiller lost 3 percent £10.61 despite a strong full-year earnings report, when it warned of higher input costs and price declines in the US beer market.

In London on Wednesday, the London equities markets continued to rally, with the FTSE 100 closing up 0.7 percent to 6,044.1, it’s highest close since February 2001. The FTSE 250, meanwhile, ended the day up 0.4 percent to 9,935.0, its highest close ever.

The telecommunications sector saw gains, with Vodafone up 1.5 percent to 190¼p as rumors continued to circulate that the company has nearly closed a deal with Verizon Communications to sell its shares in Verizon Wireless. Verizon discounted the speculation. Elsewhere in the sector, Cable & Wireless added 0.5 percent to 107¼p.

In the mining sector, Xstrata added 2.5 percent to £19.88 as it was reported that Campanhia Vale do Rio Doce, the largest mining company in the Americas, wanted to make a deal for the company. Another company said to be interested in Xstrata, Anglo American, gained 2 percent to £23.74. Merrill Lynch upgrades helped other miners. Rio Tinto was up 3 percent to £31.35, while BHP Billiton added 2.2 percent to £11.47. Still in the metals mining area, Johnson Matthey was up 2.4 percent to £14.40 on an upgrade from Citigroup. Aquarius Platinum advanced by 6.7 percent to 865p and Lonmin gained 2.9 percent to £28.02.

In the oil sector, BP added 1.6 percent to 675p.

Brewer Scottish & Newcastle was up 5.2 percent to 544p as rumors had several rivals considering takeover bids. One of the companies said to be interested is SAB Miller, which was down 0.9 percent on the day to £11.34.