London’ equities markets saw substantial declines again on Monday.

The FTSE 100 was 1.69 percent lower to 6,182.8 and the FTSE 250 dropped 1.91 percent to 10,745.3.

Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) was the biggest decliner on the 100 as it fell 35.45 percent to 282.75p, followed closely by Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL) with a drop of 31.27 percent to 600p.

Over on the 250, mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley (LSE: BB) was 15.39 percent lower to 279p.

But the worst performer on the 250 was property developer Minerva (LSE: MNR), which was down 16.34 percent to 216.25. House builders fell on the 100.

Persimmon (LSE: PSN) dropped 6.89 percent to 946p, while Barratt Developments was 7.29 percent lower to 769p.

Pubs operator Enterprise Inns dropped 7.37 percent to 578p. Back on the 250, surgical supplies company Gyrus Group (LSE: GYG) was 8.08 percent lower to 398p.

The best performer of the session on the 250 was drug maker Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LSE: HIK) with a gain of 4.68 percent to 425p.

Northern Foods (LSE: NFDS) added 4 percent to 97.5p, while rail and bus transport firm Go-Ahead Group (LSE: GOG) was up 1.66 percent to £25.18.

Software maker Sage Group (LSE: SGE) had the best day on the 100, where it gained 2.77 percent to 250p.

Medical devices manufacturer Smith & Nephew (LSE: SN) added 0.7 percent to 572p, while in the telecommunications sector BT Group (LSE: BT.A; NYSE: BT) was 0.16 percent higher to 316.75p.

London’s markets were down nearly as much as continental markets.

The FTSE 100 was down 1.93 percent to 6,191.2, while the FTSE 250 fell 1.97 percent to 11,107.7.

Software developer Sage Group (LSE: SGE) led the 100 with a gain of 1.78 percent to 243p, while insurer Domestic & General (LSE: DGG) topped the 250 as it added 10.28 percent to £13.94.

However, the insurance sector ended mixed as Old Mutual (LSE: OML; JSE: OLOML) put in the worst performance of the day on the 100, dropping 5.25 percent to 146.2p.

Other gainers on the day included aerospace group BAE Systems (LSE: BA; OTC; BAESY), which added 1 percent to 452.5p on a report that it has secured a key contract with Saudi Arabia.

Electricity generator British Energy Group (LSE: BGY) at a gain of 0.7 percent to 468.25p.

Gold miner Randgold (LSE: RRS; NAS: GOLD), meanwhile, added 8.08 percent to £14.04 on the 250.

Property developers and investors didn’t do well on the session. Hammerson (LSE: HMSO) was 4.54 percent lower to £12.20, while British Land (LSE: BLND) fell 5.03 percent to £12.26.

British Airways (LSE: BAY; NYSE: BAB) was down 4.96 percent to 397.25p.

Pubs operator Punch Taverns (LSE: PUB) dropped 4.8 percent to £10.32 after it issued a profits warning.

London’s markets were higher Friday.

The FTSE 100 added 0.37 percent to 6,220.1, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.22 percent to 10,969.5.

Software maker Sage Group (LSE: SGE) was the best performer on the 100 with a gain of 3.21 percent to 233.25p.

But financial services groups crowded the top of the loser board on the 100.

Man Group (LSE: EMG) was 2.55 percent lower to 477.5p. Barclay’s Bank (LSE: BARC; NYSE: BCS; TYO: 8642) dropped 2.63 percent to 611p, while Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN; SEHK: 2888) was the worst performer on the 100 as it fell 4.9 percent to £14.94.

3i Group (LSE: III) was 4.26 percent lower to £10.34. Rounding out the top five decliners on the 100 was British Energy Group (LSE: BGY) with a decline of 2.67 percent to 446.75p.

Miners and the oil sector saw gains.

Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) was up 2.36 percent to £33.39, while BG Group (LSE: BG; NYSE: BG) added 2.74 percent to 769.5p.

Retailer Sainsbury gained 2.16 percent to 544.5p.

The best performer on the 250 was Assura Group (LSE: AGR), with a gain of 13.85 percent to 160.25p.

Property developer Daejan Holdings (LSE: DJAN) was 5.08 percent higher to £36.00.

Financial services groups didn’t fare much better on the 250 than they did on the 100.

Asset manager Henderson Group (LSE: HGI; ASX: HGI) was 2.52 percent lower to 135.25p, while investment managers Rathbone Brothers (LSE: RAT) dropped 2.55 percent to £12.23.

But the worst performer on the 250 was food processor Northern Foods (LSE: NFDS) with a drop of 2.86 percent to 102p.

The London equities markets were higher on Wednesday in reaction to overnight gains in New York and Tokyo, while the pharmaceuticals sector was higher and financial services gained on bids rumors. The FTSE 100 added 0.6 percent to 6,065.3, while the FTSE 250 gained 1.5 percent to 10,659.1.

Miners were up on higher prices for several metals. BHP Billiton added 1.8 percent to 954p, while Xstrata was 2.1 percent higher to £22.49.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, AstraZeneca was up 2.5 percent to £30.03. Shire added 2.7 percent to £10.34 on an upgrade from “neutral” to “overweight” from HSBC, while GlaxoSmithKline gained 3 percent to £13.71. Gains in the sector were helped by news that Swiss pharma group Novartis is thinking of selling its baby food unit, Gerber Products, to Nestle.

Among financial services groups, Prudential was 2.1 percent higher to 660p on rumors that HSBC could be interested, while Legal & General added 3 percent to 154p on talk that Dutch insurer Aegon was thinking of bidding.

In the software sector, Sage added 6.2 percent to 256p on its report that its pre-tax profits were up 14 percent in the quarter. Meanwhile plumber Wolseley gained 3.8 percent to £11.78 even though its fiscal first quarter profits were up only slightly.

Equities markets in London were higher on Tuesday, spurred on by earnings reports and a strong opening in New York. The FTSE 100 added 0.7 percent to 5,895.5, while the FTSE 250 was 0.9 percent higher to 9,605.5.

With miners lower again on dropping commodities prices, some investors were switching into telecommunications and technology stocks. Sage, which produces accountancy software, added 2.2 percent to 247¼p. Among telecoms, Vodafone was 2.4 percent higher to 117½p. Vodafone was also helped for a second day by Telecom Italia’s move to divest itself of its mobile phone business.

In the steel sector, Corus was up 2.2 percent to 375¾p on positive comments from UBS.

Cruise ship operator Carnival added 3.6 percent to £24.33 on rumors that results from the summer quarter will meet analyst predictions. Part of this talk was based the fact that rival Royal Caribbean has upped its predictions for its summer results. In addition, analysts figure that a quiet hurricane season might have increased bookings.

The media sector was mixed. ITV was down by 2.2 percent to 98¾p as it seemed that advertising revenues for ITV1 could be as much as 20 percent lower in October. In addition, Cazenove repeated its “underperform” rating based on less spending by advertisers. However UTV, which owns Northern Ireland’s ITV franchise, added 1.1 percent to 370¾p.