In London on Tuesday, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.12 percent to 6,186.6 but the FTSE 250 added 0.05 percent to 10,718.2, a record high close.

Miners were up on the session. Anglo American added 0.6 percent to £22.40 on rumors that investment bank JP Morgan is attempting to put together a deal for the miner, including that he is talking to Brian Gilbertson, formerly of BHP Billiton but now chairman of Rusal of Russia. Meanwhile, Xstrata was 1 percent higher to £22.14.

Credit check provider Experian gained 2.6 percent to 615p after it was said that private equity was interested, although some analysts were doubtful of the report. Experian reports its quarterly results next week.

Retailers were down as J Sainsbury dropped 1.6 percent to 412½p even though its first half numbers, due today, are said to be positive, and Wm Morrison fell 1.8 percent to 264¼p on the news that half of its board of directors have recently sold shares.

BSkyB was 2.4 percent lower to 537p after its chairman, Rupert Murdoch, made comments that the company’s build-up of its broadband internet business. The comments came in an informal “chat” with investors in Australia.

Wolseley dropped 1.6 percent to £11.90 on rumors that it was about to bid for Dutch firm Hagemeyer. Most traders, however, discounted the talk and said that the decline was due to Home Depot’s worse than anticipated quarterly report in the US.

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.

Miners took the London equities markets higher on Monday as the FTSE 100 added 0.2 percent to 5,890.2 and the FTSE 250 gained 0.1 percent to 9,799.5. Retailers also saw gains.

The mining sector, which has been on the decline recently, was up at least partly on talk that a Brazi’s CVRD had said it was interested in linking up with Xstrata to break up Anglo-American. Xstrata added 2 percent to £22.05. Anglo-American and Vedanta Resources each were 3 percent higher, to £21.75 and £12.58 respectively. Kazakhmys gained 4.9 percent to £12.66.

PartyGaming was the biggest winner on the 100, adding 6 percent to 106p on the hope that the US senate will not act on a bill outlawing online gambling before elections in November.

Among retailers, Marks & Spencer was 0.3 percent higher to 626p after Deutsche Bank increased its target share price to 750p in anticipation of a positive interim report, due November 3. William Morrison added 0.5 percent to 232p after Deutsche Bank raised the supermarket chain’s recommendation to “buy”. Kingfisher was also up, by 1.4 percent to 247p, on positive comments from Goldman Sachs.

Defense contractor Chemring debuted on the 250 by adding 5.5 percent to £13.93, at least partly on talk that BAE Systems is interested in making a bid. BAE, however, dropped 1 percent on the session to 380¾p.

The London equities markets were slightly higher on Thursday on a slow trading day in which 2 billion shares traded hands. The FTSE 100 was 0.2 percent higher to 5,869, while the FTSE 250 gained even less, rising 0.1 percent to 9,459.9.

Among gainers on the day was Carphone Warehouse, which added 2.4 percent to 268¼p on an upgrade to “outperform” from Morgan Stanley on valuation issues. Also advancing on the day was beverage-can manufacturer Rexam, which added 7.5 percent to 549½p after its interim results were much better than rumor had suggested they would be. PayPoint, which operates electronic bill-pay terminals added 10.6 percent to 619½p on the strength of an upgrade from UBS on Wednesday.

Property developer Minerva added 5.1 percent to 280p, for one of the day’s best results on the 250, after an upgrade to “buy” from Merrill Lynch, based on an annual report that is anticipated to be positive. The report is due out next month.

Losers on the day included Rentokil Initial, down 4.7 percent to 152¼p after it warned that its largest division will not meet forecasts this year. William Morrison dropped 0.8 percent to 216p on a disappointing result in the TNS market share survey covering the four weeks that ended August 13.

London equities markets were sharply lower on Thursday after the Bank of England announced that it had raised interest rates in the UK by a quarter of a percent to 4.75 percent. Most analysts had not expected the rate hike to come at this time. With 3.2 billion shares changing hands, the FTSE 100 dropped 1.6 percent to close at 5,838.4 and the FTSE 250 was 1.4 percent lower, ending the session at 9,264.3.

Sectors most seriously affected by the rate hike included mortgage banks, homebuilders, and those companies that market homes and land. Among homebuilders, Persimmon was 4 percent lower to £12.42, while Bellway fell 4.3 percent to £11.65 and Barratt Developments dropped 5.1 percent to 945p.

Among those engaged in selling property, Hammerson declined by 3 percent to £12.36, British Land was 3.9 percent lower to £13.24, and Liberty International fell by 4.3 percent to £11.04. Estate agents were also lower. Rightmove dropped 5.8 percent to 270p, while Countrywide fell 8.1 percent to 387p.

In the banking sector, mortgage banks declined on the theory that higher interest rates would mean higher house payments and the possibility that more people would not be able to meet their debts. Northern Rock was down by 1.6 percent to £10.88, while HBOS fell 3 percent to 959p and Alliance & Leicester dropped 3.5 percent to 955p.

There were advances on the day, but they were few and far between. PartyGaming added 0.5 percent to 110p on the news that it has bought internet sports betting company Gamebookers. Broadcaster ITV gained 2.7 percent to 104¼p after adding nearly 5 percent on Wednesday. Wm Morrison was 3.5 percent higher to 213p on higher sales. Citigroup raised the supermarket chain’s target share price from 215p to 240p and reconfirmed it’s “buy” recommendation.

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.

After three consecutive days of losses, the London equities markets were higher on Thursday. The FTSE 100 gained 2 percent to 5,619.3 on gains in the mining sector. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 added 3.6 percent to 9,101.8 for its second-largest daily percentage gain so far this year.

The pharmaceuticals sector was mixed based on sales data. Shire Pharmaceuticals added 6.7 percent to 747p after it was revealed that its attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drug, Adderall XR, is selling well in the United States. However, GlaxoSmithKline dropped 1 percent to £14.58 on data showing that sales of its diabetes drug Avandia had fallen 14 percent in May, while sales of Advair, for the treatment of asthma, was down 4.4 percent during the month.

Miners Vedanta and Lonmin were up as metal prices were up and as institutional investors sought to purchase shares before both companies move from the FTSE 250 to the FTSE 100 next week. Vedanta added 13.5 percent to £12.56, while Lonmin gained 7.1 percent to £24.45.

Among miners already included in the 100, Anglo American was up 7.1 percent to £19.89 on an upgrade to “buy” from Merrill Lynch. BHP Billiton gained 7.2 percent to 982p, while Xstrata added 7.9 percent to £19.66.

Supermarket chain William Morrison dropped 1 percent to 194½p on comments from Sanford Bernstein that called its stock overvalued.

Only six stocks on the FTSE 100 in London managed to end the session on a positive note on Thursday as the 100 dropped 2.5 percent to close at 5,562.9. This took the blue-chip index to 9.4 percent below the 5 ½ year high it reached in April. The FTSE 250 did even worse on the day, closing down 2.5 percent to 8,813.7, it’s lowest close since December. Miners and oil were major factors in the declines.

In the mining sector, share values fell as metals prices declined. BHP Billiton decline by 6.5 percent to 935½p, while Anglo American lost 6.8 percent to £18.45 and Rio Tinto dropped 7 percent to £25.80.

Crude oil prices dropped on the news that al-Queda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had been killed in an air raid in Iraq. The price declines came on the theory that the terrorist’s death would lead to a decline in disruptions to oil production there. Lower oil prices led to declines share value for oil companies. BG Group dropped 2 percent to 676p, while BP lost 3.4 percent to 603p.

Among gainers on the day were Centrica, the owner of British Gas, which added 1.4 percent to 279p. The gain came as rumors spread that Gazprom is looking to take a 10 percent stake in British Gas. Some analysts, however, pointed out that a similar rumor in February did not lead to an actual purchase by Gazprom.

William Morrison also was up, by 0.2 percent to 195½p, also on bid rumors. Talk had it that Icelandic investment group Baugur and Allan Leighton were thinking about taking over the supermarket operator.

After another sharp fall on Tuesday, the London equities markets saw significant gains on Wednesday as the FTSE 100 added 1.3 percent to 5,723.8, getting back almost half of yesterday’s decline. The FTSE 250 was up 0.7 percent to 8,298.2. Despite the day’s gains, however, the 100 dropped 5 percent in May, while the 250 lost 5.9 percent on the month. It was the largest monthly loss for both indexes since January 2003.

In the mining sector, Xstrata added 5.4 percent to £21.30 in heavy trading, as £272 million worth of its stock was traded during the final auction period of the day. The miner will be joining the MSCI index beginning on Thursday.

MyTravel also traded at a higher volume than usual as rumors circulated that it could be targeted for takeover by a European company. The tour operator’s shares were up 3.5 percent to 238p. MyTravel’s half-year earnings report is due June 15, and talk that it may have incurred tax losses in the UK helped fuel the rumors.

In the insurance sector, life assurer Friends Provident added 2.4 percent to 177½p on an upgrade from “underperform” to “outperform” from Credit Suisse.

William Morrison gained 0.26 percent to 195¾p on rumors that an Icelandic investment group had been buying up shares in the supermarket operator.

PartyGaming added 3.2 percent to 130p on the day. Like Xstrata, it will also be joining the MSCI index on Thursday.

In London on Friday the FTSE 100 was lower again, while the FTSE 250 gained on the day, but both indexes were lower on the week. The 100 lost 0.2 percent on the day, 4.3 percent on the week, and is down 4.3 percent in the past two weeks, ending the day at 5,657.4. The 250 added 0.6 percent on the day but was down by 6.3 percent for the week to close at 9,192.6.

Homebuilders were up on the day after yesterday’s declines due to concerns that interest rates in the UK are about to go up. Retirement home builder McCarthy & Stone added 8.2 percent to 759½p, while Persimmon was up 4.5 percent to £12.00 and Barratt Developments gained 5 percent to 887p.

The biggest gains on the 100 came for British Airways, after it said that profits were up for the full year, helped by the first profit from its shorter routes in ten years. BA added 9.1 percent to 349½p.

The largest losses of the day came in the mining sector. With the price of metals down again, Antofagasta dropped 2.5 percent to £20.39, Xstrata was down 3.7 percent to £19.32, and Kazakhmys declined by 4.4 percent to £10.46.

Supermarket chain William Morrison added 0.9 percent to 191½p on an upgrade to “buy” from Citigroup.