London’s equities markets were higher on Thursday.

The FTSE 100 was up 1.45 percent to 6,576.3, while the FTSE 250 jumped 1.79 percent to 11,480.5. As in Europe, telecoms topped the gainers.

Vodafone (LSE: VOD; NYSE: VOD; FWB: VOD) added 6.45 percent to 189.7p after France Telecom (Euronext: FTE; NYSE: FTE) announced its better than anticipated results.

Retailers also saw gains.

Home Retail (LSE: HOME) was higher on the 100, up 5.03 percent to 412.75, while over on the 250 department store chain Debenhams (LSE: DEB) gained 6.9 percent to 112.25p.

Online gambler PartyGaming (LSE: PRTY) was the best performer on the 250, where it added 13.64 percent to 31.25p.

Insurers were mixed on the session, with Old Mutual (LSE: OML; JSE: OLOML) 5 percent higher to 178.6p but Standard Life (LSE: SLET) down 1.25 percent to 276.25p.

Other losers included house builder and property developer Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV), which dropped 1.81 percent to 650p.

In the banking sector, Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL) was down 2.99 percent to 729.5p.

Capita Group (LSE: CPI) had the worst day on the 100, falling 5.53 percent to 700p on the news that it will lose handling of London’s congestion charge to IBM (NYSE: IBM) beginning in 2009.

London’s markets saw gains as well, with the FTSE 100 adding 0.54 percent to 6,535.2 and the FTSE 250 was up 1.15 percent to 11,360.2.

Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) led the 100 with a gain of 11.95 percent to 151.8p on rumors that a US private equity group has arranged funding for a possible takeover.

Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL) was also higher, adding 7.06 percent to 880p.

But the banking sector was not universally higher.

Merchant bank Close Brothers Group (LSE: CBG) was down 3.47 percent to 794p for the worst day on the 250.

The insurance sector was also mixed.

While Old Mutual (LSE: OML; JSE: OLOML) was up 4.74 percent to 168p, Royal Sun & Alliance (LSE: RSA) was 1.73 percent lower to 153.1p.

Other gainers included house builders Taylor Wimpey (LSE: TW), which added 4.16 percent to 300.75p, and pubs operator Punch Taverns (LSE: PUB) with a gain of 3.87 percent to £10.46.

PartyGaming (LSE: PRTY) was 7.83 percent higher to 31p to lead the 250 on the session.

The worst performance of the day on the 100 came from the telecommunications sector as Vodafone (LSE: VOD; NYSE: VOD; FWB: VOD) dropped 2.51 percent to 171.1p.

Elsewhere in the sector, Cable & Wireless (LSE: CW) was 1.65 percent lower to 185.2p.

Retailers had a difficult day of it.

Sporting goods retailer Sports Direct (LSE: SPD) fell 3.43 percent to 133.75, while Carphone Warehouse (LSE: CPW) was down 1.52 percent to 340.75p and Home Retail (LSE: HOME) was 2.27 percent lower to 398.25p.

In London on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 added 1.81 percent to 6,196 and the FTSE 250 was up 2.55 percent to 10,910.7.

Miners were higher on the day after BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; NYSE: BHP; ASX: BHP) announced that its underlying profit was up 35 percent in the full year on increased demand from China and on higher commodity prices.

BHP was 4.92 percent higher to £13.65, taking other miners with it.

Anglo-American (LSE: AAL) was up 4.68 percent to £27.52, while Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) gained 6.19 percent to 694.5p and Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) added 6.81 percent to £32.80 and Lonmin (LSE: LMI) jumped 7.22 percnet to £31.77.

Pubs operator Punch Taverns (LSE: PUB) added 6.4 percent to £10.39 on positive broker comment.

Rivals Mitchells & Butlers (LSE: MAB) and Enterprise Inns (LSE: ETI) were also higher, gaining 3.8 percent to 704p and 5.8 percent to 611p respectively.

Some banks also saw gains. HSBC (LSE: HSBA; NYSE: HBC; Euronext: HSBC; SEHK: 005) was up 1.2 percent to 907p after it said it will close an office in Indiana next year and will eliminate 600 jobs on account of subprime problems.

Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN; SEHK: 2888) gained 2.2 percent to £15.75, while Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) added 3.7 percent to 728p.

Construction-related shares did well on the 250.

Construction engineering firm Keller Group (LSE: KLR) added 6.88 percent to 987p.

Atkins (LSE: ATK), which offers construction management and consulting services, was up 8.61 percent to £10.28, while builder Severfield-Rowen (LSE: SFR) was the best perfomrer of the day on the 250 as it gained 8.83 percent to £22.68.

The oil sector was mixed.

JKX Oil & Gas (LSE: JKX) had the worst day on the 250, falling 4.25 percent to 354.75.

On the other hand, Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW; OTC: TUWLY) was 4.4 percent higher to 483p after it said it had made a “significant” discovery offshore near Ghana.

The worst performer on the 100 was Scottish & Southern Energy (LSE: SSE) with a drop of 2.94 percent to £13.85.

In the telecommunications sector, Vodafone (LSE: VOD; NYSE: VOD; FWB: VOD) was 0.26 percent lower to 156p, while BT Group (LSE: BT.A; NYSE: BT) dropped 2.24 percent to 305p.

In the retail sector, DSG International (LSE: DSGI) was down 0.63 percent to 159p.

The London equities markets saw strong gains Tuesday as the FTSE 100 added 1.93 percent to 6,308.8 and the FTSE 250 gained 2.15 percent to 11,235.2.

There were only two losers on the FTSE 100 on the session.

Food processor Tate & Lyle (LSE: TATE) was 0.54 percent lower to 558.5p, while miner Xstrata (LSE: XTA) fell 1.36 percent to £28.72 even though it said earnings were up 22 percent in the first half after it also made a $1 billion bid for South Africa’s Eland Platinum (JSE: ELD).

Human resources company Capita Group had the best day on the 100 as it added 5.71 percent to 748.5p.

Property investors did well on both the 100 and 250.

Hammerson (LSE: HMSO) was up 4.51 percent to £12.24, while Liberty International (LSE: LII) gained 4.64 percent to £10.61 on the 100 and Minerva jumped 9.01 percent to 278.25p on the 250.

Consulting engineers Mouchel Parkman (LSE: MCHL) had the best day on the 250, gaining 17.95 percent to 418.5p.

Other gainers on the session included telecommunications group Vodafone (LSE: VOD; NYSE: VOD; FWB: VOD), which added 4.91 percent to 159.4p.

In the banking sector, Standard Chartered gained 5.03 percent to £16.38.

The biggest decliner on the day on the 250 was Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (LSE: MLC), with a drop of 10.55 percent to 518p.

The London equities markets fell significantly on Thursday.

The FTSE 100 was 3.15 percent lower on the session, to 6,251.2, while the FTSE 250 dropped 3.35 percent to 11,033.4.

Insurers were in focus, as companies in the sector provided both the best and worst performances on the 100.

On the winning side, Resolution (LSE: REL) added 2.84 percent to 633.5p, while Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) fell 8.24 percent to 138.1p.

The decline for Legal & General came after it reported that margins had fallen to 3.6 percent and that its non-life unit had lost £38 million on household claims due to flooding.

L&G also disappointed when it announced a share buyback program worth £1 billion, much less than had been anticipated by analysts.

Also in the insurance sector, Friends Provident was down 6.65 percent to 181.2p as UBS (NYSE: UBS; SWX: UBSN; TYO: 8657) cut its recommendation from “buy” to “neutral”.

Other sectors seeing declines on the 100 included hotels operators, as Intercontinental Hotels (LSE: IHG; NYSE: IHG) fell 7.34 percent to £11.11.

In the telecommunications sector, Vodafone (LSE: VOD; NYSE: VOD; FWB: VOD) dropped 7.23 percent to 145p.

Airplane engine manufacturer Rolls Royce (LSE: RR) fell 6.46 percent to 496.25p after it reported that profits in the first half were down by 51 percent, affected by the weakness of the US dollar.

The biggest loser on the 250 was retailer GAME group (LSE: EBQ), with a drop of 7.22 percent to 176.75p.

In London on Thursday the FTSE 100 was 0.57 percent lower to 6,635.2, while the FTSE 250 fell 0.27 percent to 11,802.8.

The declines came after the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted to raise interest rates to 5.75 percent.

Miners were helped by continuing merger rumors and by metals prices which remained strong.

Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) was 1.45 percent higher to £40.01, while BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; ASX: BHP; NYSE: BHP) gained 1.74 percent to £14.62.

Xstrata (LSE: XTA) had the best day on the 100, adding 1.96 percent to £31.70.

Computer software and video games retailer GAME Group (LSE: EBQ) was the best performer on the 250, gaining 7.14 percent to 195p, while employment recruiter Michael Page International (LSE: MPI) was 6.34 percent higher to 595p.

The telecommunications sector took losses on the 100 after it was reported that Vodafone (LSE: VOD; NYSE: VOD; FWB: VOD) had not won an exclusive contract to partner with Apple (NAS: AAPL; LSE: ACP; FWB: APC) on its iPhone in the UK.

Vodafone dropped 2.41 percent to 162.1p, while BT Group (LSE: BT.A; NSYE: BT) was 2.38 percent lower to 328.75p.

Construction materials group Wolseley (LSE: WOS)had the worst day on the 100 as it dropped 2.63 percent to £11.83.

In London on Wednesday equities markets were lower, with the FTSE 100 down 0.6 percent to 6,160.7 and the FTSE 250 also 0.6 percent lower, to 11,086.

Publishers, however, did well on the session. Reed Elsevier added 1.2 percent to 582p on comments from Credit Suisse that indicated the Anglo-Dutch publisher could be the target of a leveraged buyout. Yell Group, Yellow Pages publisher, was 2.1 percent higher to 578p on mixed remarks from brokers.

In the media sector, BSkyB also benefited from broker comments, adding 1.9 percent to 582p after Tuesday’s upgrade from Morgan Stanley.

Foods retailer Wm Morrison was also higher on the session, adding 6 percent to 286¼p on better sales than expected during the holiday period.

The tobacco sector was mixed. Imperial Tobacco dropped 0.1 percent to £20.80, but British American Tobacco gained 2.2 percent to £14.91 on positive comments from Dresdner Kleinwort.

Telecommunications companies saw declines. BT was 1.2 percent lower to 316½p on a downgrade from Investec, while Vodafone dropped 2.5 percent to 145¾p and Cable & Wireless fell 2.9 percent to 156¾p.

Pubs operators were lower after the chief executive of Enterprise Inns said that the introduction of real estate investment trusts would not likely provide any benefit to shareholders in the short term. Enterprise dropped 2.1 percent to £12.99, while Punch Taverns fell 3 percent to £12.14.

London equities markets were lower on Thursday, mainly on declines in financial sectors. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.2 percent to 6,136.5. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was 18.6 points lower to 10,323.1.

Losers among financial institutions included HSBC, down 0.8 percent to £10.05. Also lower were Northern Rock, which fell 0.9 percent to £11.91 and Bradford & Bingley, 1.5 percent lower to 466p. Alliance & Leicester dropped 1.8 percent to £11.09. Ironically, life assurer Prudential, which sent the sector lower when it blamed its predicted losses in the second half on a loss in its internet bank, Egg, itself added 0.9 percent on the day to 635p.

In the tobacco sector, Imperial Tobacco was 0.4 percent lower to £18.24 on a downgrade from “buy” to “neutral” from Goldman Sachs.

The oil sector was lower even in the face of expected cuts in production from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Companies. Royal Dutch Shell dropped 0.6 percent to £18.14, while BP fell 1 percent to 595p.

Vodafone declined 0.6 percent to 128p on news from the European telecommunications sector. Nokia was down on the session, and there were worries that an offer from Telefonica to not charge for incoming calls to customers traveling in Europe could set off a tariff war.

The pharmaceuticals sector saw advances as GlaxoSmithKline added 1 percent to £14.90 and AstraZeneca was 1.5 percent higher to £34.74, its highest share price in nearly five years.

London equities markets saw gains on Thursday as the FTSE 100 added 0.8 percent to 6,121.3 and the FTSE 250 gained 1 percent to 10,347.3. The 100’s close was its highest since April 21, while the 250 closed at an all-time high.

There were losers on the day, however, some of them taking substantial losses. Carphone Warehouse declined 14 percent to 310p on the announcement by Vodafone that it was awarding an exclusive retail contract in the UK to rival Phones4U. Vodfone dropped 0.2 percent to 130p after the news.

Cairn Energy was also lower on the session, dropping 2.8 percent to £18.35 after dropping as low as £16.73 earlier in the day. The initial drop came after a downgrade from ABN Amro, but investors came to the conclusion that the reduction was not as bad as first thought.

Supermarket chain William Morrison dropped 0.1 percent to 249½p after Brandes cut its holding in the company to 13 percent.

Gainers on the day included the mining sector, which advanced as commodities prices rose. Anglo American was 2.7 percent higher to £23.69, while Vedanta Resources added 3.2 percent to £13.62 and Rio Tinto gained 3.5 percent to £26.65. Anglo American was helped by rumors of bids and stake building.

London equities markets were higher on Tuesday due to advances in a wide variety of sectors. The FTSE 100 added 0.7 percent to 6,072.7, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.9 percent to a new high of 10,244.5.

Asset managers had a good day as Schroders added 4.2 percent to £10.04, Amvescap gained 5.3 percent to 629p, and Man Group was 8.2 percent higher to 478p. Amvescap benefited from the news that the funds under its management have gone up from $428.9 billion in August to $440 billion in September. The September figure was a full $2 billion higher than some estimates.

In the telecommunications sector, Vodafone added 2.6 percent to 120¼p on an upgrade to “outperform” by Bernstein Research, which also set a target share price of 155p for the telecom company.

The oil sector was higher on gains in exploration companies despite another drop in crude oil prices. Premier Oil advanced by 4.5 percent to £11.70, a record high. Dana Petroleum, rumored to be interested in Premier, added 6.4 percent to £12.62. Tullow Oil and JKX Oil & Gas were both 6.1 percent higher, to 391p and 290p respectively.

Plumber and building materials company Wolseley added 3.9 percent to £12.11 on positive comments from JP Morgan concerning US homebuilders. Wolseley gains around 60 percent of its revenues from the US market every year.

Among losers on the session, Shire dropped 4.6 percent to 961p as investors decided that its 15 percent advance on Monday was out of proportion to the news that the drug maker had gained approval for its hyperactivity drug, NRP 104, for use in the United States.