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.

London’s equities markets were up significantly on Tuesday.

The FTSE 100 added 2.39 percent to 6,280.7, while the FTSE 250 gained 2.16 percent to 11,212.3.

There were only two losers on the 100.

Consumer electronics retailer DSG International (LSE: DSGI) dropped 0.2 percent to 146.9p.

Pest control and facilities services group Rentokil Initial (LSE: RTO; OTC: RTOKY) had the worst day on the 100 as it fell 0.52 percent to 170.9p.

Meanwhile, sports retailers had a bad day on the 250. Sports Direct (LSE: SPD) was 4.55 percent lower to 131p, while JJB Sports (LSE: SPD) had the worst day on the 250 with a decline of 14.20 percent to 172.25p on a profits warning.

There were gains in the retail sector, however.

Clothing retailer Next (LSE: NXT) added 4.25 percent to £19.40, while food retailer Tesco (LSE: TSCO) was up 4.39 percent to 433.5p.

In the mining sector, BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; NYSE: BHP; ASX: BHP) gained 4.25 percent to £14.71.

The best performance on the 100 came from the banking sector, where Barclays Bank (LSE: BARC; NYSE: BCS; TYO: 8642) was 4.74 percent higher to 607.5p after it said it had a profitable month in August.

Electronics engineers Aveva Group (LSE: AVV) was the best performer on the 250 with a gain of 6.7 percent to 940p. Property developer Minerva (LSE: MNR) added 6.34 percent to 272.5p.

London’s markets were also higher on the session.

The FTSE 100 added 3.5 percent to 6,064.2, while the FTSE 250 was 2.14 percent higher to 10,686.2.

As on the continent, banks saw gains.

Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN; SEHK: 2888) was the best performer on the 100 as it added 8.03 percent to £15.60, while Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) was right behind with a gain of 7.66 percent to 709.5p.

Insurers were also higher, with Standard Life (LSE: SLET) up 7.01 percent to 305.5p.

Broker ICAP (LSE: IAP) was 6.48 percent higher to 484.5p.

Miners also saw gains.

Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) gained 1.8 percent to £29.82, while BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; NSYE; BHP; ASX: BHP) added 3.5 percent to £12.24 and Lonmin (LSE: LMI) was 6.52 percent higher to £29.74.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN; NYSE: AZN) was up 2.55 percent to £23.36 while GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK; NYSE: GSK) gained 3.33 percent to £12.71.

Oil and gas services group Petrofac (LSE: PFC) had the best day on the 250, where it added 7.72 percent to 418.5p, while the biggest loser there was asset manager Henderson Group (LSE: HGI; ASX: HGI) at a drop of 2.9 percent to 125.5p.

There were only two losers on the 100 on the session. Imperial Chemical Industries (LSE: ICI) dropped 0.16 percent to 616p, while retailer Tesco (LSE: TSCO) was down 0.12 percent to 403.5p.

Records were set Tuesday in London as both the FTSE 250 and the FTSE All-Share hit new record highs and the FTSE 100 closed at its highest level in six years. The 100 added 0.4 percent to 6,346.3, while the 250 was 0.6 percent higher to 11,479.4 and the All-Share gained 0.5 percent to 3,290.67.

Defense contractor BAE Systems added 2.8 percent on the session to 439¼p after US President George W. Bush asked for record defense spending in his 2008 budget, delivered to Congress on Monday.

Imperial Tobacco added 1.3 percent to £22.14 even though it was the target of a Deutsche Bank downgrade after rumors surfaced that it might receive a bid from Altadis of Spain in cooperation with private equity.

Supermarkets were higher on raised target share prices from UBS and on a report that a group of investors from Qatar had taken a 1 percent stake in J Sainsbury. Sainsbury was 1.3 percent higher to 516 on the report. Tesco added 1 percent to 438½p as UBS hiked its target share price to 550p, while Wm Morrison added 2.6 percent, to a new record share price of 311p, after its target was raised to 360p.

In the telecommunications sector Cable & Wireless gained 3 percent to 179½p, its highest share price in four and a half years, on reports that it could be a target of Deutsche Telekom. Analysts were not convinced of the rumors in the German press, saying that DT is in no position to make offers currently.

Trade was brisk in London on Friday as 4.2 billion shares traded hands and the FTSE 100 was close to a six-year high. The 100 ended the day up 0.4 percent to 6,310.9, a gain of 1.3 percent on the week. The FTSE 250, meanwhile, added 1.1 percent on the day and 2 percent on the week to close at an all-time high of 11,343.3.

The supermarkets sector was driven by rumors that private equity is interested in J Sainsbury and especially interested in the properties it holds. Sainsbury added 13.9 percent on the day to 507p, its highest share price in eight years, while fellow grocers Tesco and Wm Morrison were up 3.7 percent to 435p and 5.9 percent to 300¾p respectively.

Elsewhere in the retail sector, Kingfisher was up 3.5 percent to 252½p, while Marks & Spencer was 4.1 percent higher to 717½p.

The interest in Sainsbury for its properties also helped other property backed stocks. Pubs operators Enterprise Inns and Mitchells & Butlers were among those seeing gains. Enterprise added 2.8 percent to 665½p, while Mitchells & Butlers gained 4.4 percent to 736p. Mitchells & Butlers was also boosted by its addition by Goldman Sachs to the broker’s “conviction buy” list.

In the tobacco sector, Imperial Tobacco closed at an all-time high £21.75, a gain of 4 percent that came on an analyst’s report that it could be a bids target for Philip Morris International after it separates from Altria in March.

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.

The London equities markets saw gains on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 adding 0.7 percent to 6,150.4 and the FTSE 250 gaining 1.2 percent on the session to close at 10,342.

The media sector saw gains after upgrades for the sector. BSkyB was 0.9 percent higher to 552½p after JP Morgan said that it could top its target for subscribers for 2010. Elsewhere in the sector, Johnston Press added 2.3 percent to 428¾p, while Trinity Mirror gained 3 percent to 502½p and Daily Mail & General Trust was up 3.1 percent to 657p.

Steelmaker Corus added 1.7 percent to 487p on rumors that CSN, the Brazilian steelmaker was ready to top Tata Steel’s bid, worth 455p per share. The bid rumors were denied after the close of the session.

In the energy sector, British Energy was up 5.2 percent to 474p on rumors that a European utility could bid for the UK government’s 65 percent of the company. On the other hand, National Grid dropped 1.6 percent to 674½p.

The retail sector was also mixed, with Tesco up 1.5 percent to 390p, a record high share price, on speculation that it will raise its earnings forecast. However, clothing retailer Next dropped 1 percent to £18.51 on rumors that it is preparing to issue a profits warning.

The equities markets in London took significant losses on Thursday as 2.9 billion shares changed hands during the day. The FTSE 100 fell 1.6 percent to 5,765 as miners fell substantially, while the media sector took the FTSE 250 2 percent lower to 9,176.2.

In the mining sector, BHP Billiton was down 3.9 percent to £10.51, Lonmin dropped 4.4 percent to £27.77, and Vedanta Resources fell 5.2 percent to £13.36. The losses reflected investor reluctance to take any risks at the present time.

On the other hand, oil exploration stocks rose with crude oil prices. Premier Oil added 0.8 percent to 957p, while Dana Petroleum gained 1.6 percent to £10.97.

In the media sector, EMI dropped 9.2 percent to 277¾p on the news that a European court had overruled the European Union’s approval of a merger between Sony Music and BMG as investors worried that the ruling might affect the proposed EMI/Warner deal, Meanwhile, Emap fell 14.9 percent to 712p after issuing a negative trading statement.

In the banking sector, Standard Chartered was down by 2.9 percent to £12.49 on concerns that it will need to raise $5 billion (£2.7 billion) if it wins the bidding for LG Card, the largest credit card issuer in South Korea. Analysts also pointed out that, with Standard Chartered’s purchase of Korea First Bank last year, the acquisition of LG Card would leave SC too heavily exposed to South Korea.

Gains on the FTSE 100 were few and limited. Rising oil prices took BP up just 0.1 percent to 641p. National grid gained 0.3 percent to 590p, while Tesco added 0.9 percent to 335p.

In London on Thursday, equities markets bounced back after Wednesday’s losses as the FTSE 100 gained 0.7 percent to 5,855.9 and the FTSE 250 was up 0.8 percent to 9,381.1.

The pharmaceuticals sector provided a positive influence as AstraZeneca rose 4.4 percent to £28.32 on talk that Swiss company Novartis is thinking of bidding for the company. GlaxoSmithKline also was up on the day, by 1.5 percent to £15.59, on an upgrade to “buy” from Deutsche Bank and on the news that it has filed for European approval for Cervarix, its vaccine against cervical cancer.

The supermarket sector was mixed. Tesco dropped 0.9 percent to 329p, largely due to the fact that as the largest company in the sector it has the most to lose in a government probe into the sector’s competitive practices. Elsewhere in the sector, however, J Sainsbury gained 0.6 percent to 319½p, while Wm Morrison added 1.2 percent to 207p.

Music and book retailer HMV was up 5.4 percent to 192p on rumors that private equity group Permira has upped its bid for the company.

British Airways was up 3.8 percent to 328½p on the news that it plans to save £450 million over two years.

Airport operator BAA was down by 6.7 percent to 775p on rumors that Spanish construction company Grupo Ferrovial is having second thoughts about its plans to bid for the owner of Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. Ferrovial insists that its plans have not changed.