Equities markets in London were higher on Wednesday, with both the FTSE 250 and the FTSE All-Share hitting all-time highs for the second day in a row. The 250 added 0.2 percent to 11,502, while the All-Share gained 0.2 percent as well, to 3,301.77. The FTSE 100 was also higher, up 0.4 percent to 6,369.5.

Miners saw advances on the day after BHP Billiton added 5.5 percent to £10.40 on the announcement of a new share buyback. The rest of the sector followed Billiton higher, with Anglo American gaining 2.7 percent to £24.71, Lonmin 2.8 percent higher to £31.89, and Vedanta resources adding 3.5 percent to £12.36.

J Sainsbury was 0.7 percent higher to 519½p after rumors circulated that an anonymous investor was interested in acquiring 50 million shares of the supermarket chain.

British Airways gained 4.6 percent to 574p on upgrades from Merrill Lynch, which raised its recommendation on the airline to “buy” and increased its target share price to 700p.

With 86million shares trading hands on the session, Scottish Power was 1.8 percent higher to 770p on consolidation rumors in Europe. The rumors were denied later.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, AstraZeneca dropped 1.1 percent to £29.50.

London equities markets were higher on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 1.3 percent higher to 6,282.2 on a session where it saw all of its listed stocks finish in the black. The FTSE 250 was 1.1 percent higher to 11,221.5. Trade was brisk, with 4 billion shares trading hands.

Homebuilders were higher on mergers and acquisitions rumors. Wilson Bowden gained 0.6 percent to £23, while Redrow was 1.1 percent higher to 626½p and Barratt Developments added 2.3 percent to £12.09, amid talk that Barratt could be interested in Redrow if its bid for Wilson is not successful.

In the retail sector, supermarket J Sainsbury was up 2.6 percent to 445½p on the news that Lord Sainsbury of Turville reduced his stake to 13.9 percent by selling 40 million shares.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, AstraZeneca was up 2.2 percent to £29.03 after it outlined steps it would take in order to drive growth.

While no stocks on the 100 lost ground on the day, four did close even. Three of those, steelmaker Corus, at 601½p, tobacco company Gallaher, at £11.37, and Scottish Power, at 747p, are all in the middle of mergers and acquisitions activity. The fourth company to close steady was advertiser WPP, which also ended the session at 747p.

London equities markets were lower on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 dropping 0.8 percent to 6,215.7 and the FTSE 250 falling 0.7 percent to 11,124.5.

The tobacco sector was mixed on bids rumors. Gallaher was 0.3 percent higher to £11.38 after it was said that Japan Tobacco could be working to purchase more stock. After the close these rumors were borne out as Japan Tobacco said it had added 6.3 million additional shares. Imperial Tobacco, however, dropped 0.5 percent to £20.99, hurt by a report that it would bid for Spanish cigarette maker Altadis sometime during the year.

There were mixed results in the energy sector as well. Scottish Power was 0.1 percent higher, to 742½p. Scottish & Southern Energy added 2.2 percent to £15.60 for the largest gain of the session on the 100. Both gains came amid bids rumors. Two other energy companies were lower on the session even though they are seen as more likely targets. Kelda dropped 0.1 percent to 926½p, while Centrica fell 0.8 percent to 355¼p.

In the retail sector, Kingfisher dropped 2.1 percent to 232½p on a downgrade of its long-term credit rating by Standard & Poor’s and a lowered earnings estimate from Lehman Brothers. J. Sainsbury, on the other hand, added 0.8 percent to 424½p on rumors that Lord Sainsbury of Turnville’s 15 percent stake in the supermarket is the target of a financial buyer.

The equities markets were up in London on Tuesday, helped by new data that shows consumer confidence in the United States up more than had been expected in September. The FTSE 100 was 1.3 percent higher to 5,873.6, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.9 percent to 9,844.9. Mergers and acquisitions speculation was another driving force on the session.

In the steel sector, Corus added 3.6 percent to 377¼p on continuing talk about its pursuit of a low-cost steel slab producer in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) region. Morgan Stanley recently said that such a deal could produce a 100p per hike in Corus’ share prices.

Other bids rumors sent Scottish Power up 3 percent to 634p as rumors spread that Eon could bid for the utility if its effort to buy Endsea doesn’t work out. In the airlines sector, rumors that British Airways is in merger talks with Iberia sent BA 0.6 percent higher to 429p.B

Plumber and building materials group Wolseley gained 4.1 percent to £11.39 on a better than expected full-year report. Elsewhere in the sector, building materials supplier Hanson added 6.2 percent to 730p as rumors continued that Cemex is preparing a bid.

Among miners, Rio Tinto gained 3.5 percent to £24.34 on talk that it will propose an off-market buyback of London-traded shares for £25 per share.

Emap added 2.6 percent to 741p after the publisher received an upgrade to “buy” from Goldman Sachs.

Among losers on the session, BSkyB was 1.3 percent lower to 542p on talk that one of its brokers had been informed that its forecasts were too high by 10 percent. BSkyB denied the rumors.

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.

London equities markets were lower again on Friday. After gains early in the day, the FTSE 100 ended up 21.9 points lower at 5,597.4 as miners lost value on China’s steps to slow down economic growth. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 dropped 8 points to end the day at 9,093.8. Over the week, the 100 lost 1 percent, while the 250 actually managed to gain 0.8 percent.

The 100 will lose three stocks beginning Monday, and all three were lower. Ladbrokes dropped 3.4 percent to 372¼p, while Daily Mail and General lost 2p to 600 and Cable & Wireless fell ½p to 109½p.

In the utilities sector, Scottish Power added 3.9 percent to 577½p for the largest gain on the 100. Most analysts put the gain to a positive evaluation of its PPM Energy division, which is the second biggest wind farm operator in the United States. Others said that it was helped by bid talk, as rumor had it that Scottish & Southern Energy is preparing an offer. Scottish & Southern added 0.2 percent to £11.13.

Retailer Marks & Spencer was up 3.3 percent to 573p on a “buy” recommendation from Deutsche Bank after having lost 13 percent in the past month. Also in retail, supermarket chain William Morrison added 2.4 percent to 199¼p and 50 million shares changed hands as bid rumors circulated.

In the mining sector, Rio Tinto dropped 1 percent to £27.17, while BHP Billiton declined by 2.2 percent to 960p.

In London on Wednesday the equities markets took a tumble after Tuesday‘s gains, with the FTSE 100 dropping 1.6 percent to 5,587.1 and the FTSE 250 dropping 1.95 percent to 9,054. Much of the declines on the 100 were put to losses in the oil and mining sectors.

Among blue-chip miners, Kazakhmys lost 5.7 percent to £10.20 and Antofagasta was down 3.7 percent to £19.95. Mid-cap miners did better, with Vedanta adding 1.8 percent to £13.13, while Lonmin was up 0.45 percent to £24.52.

In the oil sector, a drop in the price of crude oil sent Cairn Energy down 4.7 percent to £20.83.

The online gaming sector provided the biggest loser on the 100 on concerns that a Judiciary Committee vote in the United States on a bill that would outlaw online gambling could send the legislation to a full vote in the House of Representatives as early as June 11. The prospect sent shares in PartyGaming down 6.5 percent to 112¾p. The news that two of PartyGaming’s founders are resigning from the board and could sell much of their 39 percents take in the company also figured in the day’s loss.

British Airways was down 0.9 percent on the day to 335p on reports that bird flu might have spread person-to-person in Indonesia.

Only six stocks on the 100 closed the day with gains. Scottish Power added 1.9 percent to 553½p on a full-year report that exceeded expectations. Another of the day’s gainers was pubs operator Mitchells & Butlers, which was up 2.45 percent to 481¼p on a rumor that Robert Tchenguiz, who recently walked away from a bid for the company, was planning on purchasing a substantial block of M&B’s stock during the day as a move toward another attempt to buy the company. By law he cannot make another bid until November, but due to a recent rules change he can legally build his stake before that time.

The London equities markets were lower on Friday, but the FTSE 100 gained 1 percent over the week and managed to close out the week above the 6,000 level. The 100 was down 0.3 percent Friday to 6,026.1, while the FTSE 250 also lost 0.3 percent to 9,923.1.

The oil sector saw gains on the day. BP added 1.3 percent to 681½p. Royal Dutch Shell was up 0.5 percent to £19.20. Among mid-caps, JKX Oil & Gas gained 10.4 percent to 352p. The gains came on a UBS upgrade of the sector from “neutral” to “overweight”.

Energy stocks were down, however, again on remarks from UBS. Scottish & Southern Energy lost 2.3 percent to £11.30, while Scottish Power and British Energy were each down 1.7 percent, to 576p and 682p respectively.

Miners gained on soaring metals prices. Kazakhmys added 11.3 percent during the week to £12.00. Antofagasta was up 5.4 percent to £22.35. Rio Tinto gained 4.9 percent to £30.65.

Among banks, Barclays was up 2.2 percent on Friday to 701p on talk that Citigroup, newly freed by the US Federal Reserve of New York to make large deals, might be interested in bidding for the UK bank.

Shire Pharmaceuticals was up 0.5 percent to 876½p after the US Food and Drug Administration approved its Daytrana patch for the treatment of attention deficit disorder.