The equities markets in London were down on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 losing 0.3 percent to 5,478.2 and the FTSE 250 declining by 0.1 percent to 7,925.1.

There were 3.1 billion shares traded on the day.

In its debut, online gaming company 888 Holdings started with a share price of 175p, gained to as much as 183¼p, and then slid to end the day down 3.7 percent to 168½p as investors took into account the fact that interest in online gaming might be slowing.

Another online gaming group, PartyGaming, was down 3.7 percent to 91¾p. But spread betting company IG Group was up 3 percent to 172p as it said recent trading volumes had been good.

Leisure company Hilton Group, the owner of Ladbrokes, was up 2.4 percent to 315p on recommendations from ABN Amro and Deutsche Bank.

Retailer Boots was down 3.3 percent to 608½p after reporting that second quarter revenues in its core chain were down 1.6 percent. DSG international, which owns Dixons, lost 2 percent to 150p. Regal Petroleum fell 31.8 percent ton the day to 88p on its interim results and as a result of the confirmation that there is a legal challenge being offered to its Ukranian oil licenses.

In London on Wednesday the FTSE 100 reached a 4-year high of 5,494.8, its sixth best day this year and a rise of 0.9 percent from Tuesday’s close. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was also up, by 0.6 percent to 7,935.6.

Among the stocks helping the markets to their gains on the day was Standard Chartered, which gained 4.2 percent to £12.40, near its all time high, on strong performances by Asian stock markets. Standard Chartered recently bought South Korean bank Korea First, which has been a particularly strong market.

Schroders, the assets manager, which also has a great deal of interests in the region, was also up on the day, by 1.3 percent to 920p.

The mining sector was also up on the day, with Corus and Xstrata each up by 4 percent, to 52½p and £14.90 respectively. Also in the sector, Anglo American rose by 3.8 percent to £17.04.

The energy sector was mixed, with Royal Dutch Shell “B” shares up 1.6 percent to £19.46 but Burren Energy down 0.8 percent to 839½p.

Several media companies were up on the recommendation of ABN Amro. Among the media sector gainers were United Business Media, which gained 1.5 percent to 551½p. Also seeing gains were WPP with an advance of 1.7 percent to 586p and Reuters, which rose by 2.8 percent to 379¼p.

The London equities markets saw little movement as a whole on Tuesday as the FTSE 100 was down by only 0.1 percent and the FTSE 250 fell fractionally to 7,891.9 on a volume of 2.5 billion shares traded.

Before its decline, the FTSE 100 hit a 4-year high of 5,471.2 earlier in the day, but losses in New York helped the early gains disappear.

BAT was the biggest loser on the FTSE 100, dropping 2.3 percent to £11.77 as investors waited to see if the Canadian Supreme Court would allow a suit worth C$10 billion against the tobacco company to continue.

The energy sector was up, however. BP ended the day up 1 percent to 699½p after reaching an all-time high of 675½p earlier on an upgrade from “neutral” to “overweight” from JP Morgan. BG Group gained 0.7 percent to 534½p.

Among oil explorers, Burren Energy rose 2.7 percent to 846p on an initial “buy” recommendation from Merrill Lynch. Tullow Oil gained 2.5 percent to 254p.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Alliance Unichem led all bluechips as it gained 3.5 percent to 870p on rumors of forthcoming bids.

Meanwhile, O2 was up 1.6 percent to 155½p on an increased revenue guidance for its main operations in the UK and an upwardly revised full-year earnings guidance on its German unit. O2 shares hit an all-time high of 157½p earlier in the day.

In London on Friday the FTSE 100 gained 0.2 percent to 5,397.8, while the FTSE 250 was up by 0.2 percent as well, to 7,853.7.

The markets were up on advances in the telecommunications sector and on the downgrade of Hurricane Rita to Category 4.

In the telecommunications sector, O2 gained 2.3 percent to 154¼p on a positive assessment by ratings agency Fitch, while Vodafone rose 1.4 percent to 147p.

The oil sector declined on the day as damage predictions ahead of Rita were decreased. BG Group fell 1.1 percent to 534½p, Royal Dutch Shell declined 1.2 percent to £19.09, BP lost 1.6 percent to 657½p, and Cairn Energy was down 2 percent to £19.77.

Elsewhere, ITV gained 1.4 percent to 112¼p as rumors continued that a group led by a former BBC director general was getting ready to bid on the broadcasting company.

Pub group Enterprise Inns added 1.8 percent to 838p on an announcement that it expects profits to meet expectations and that it will return surplus cash to shareholders through higher dividends and share buybacks.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, GlaxoSmithKline gained 2.7 percent to £14.16.

Equity markets were down on Wednesday in London. The FTSE 100 lost 0.9 percent to 5,369.7, while the FTSE 250 was down 1 percent to 7,849.1.

Volume on the day, was 3.3 billion shares traded.

At least one analysts blamed the poor performance, the worst since the July 7 terrorist bombings in London, on weakness in US equities markets due to high oil prices and another interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve.

The banking sector was mixed, with Royal Bank of Scotland down 1.3 percent to £15.76 on rumors that it might be thinking of intruding into the proposed merger between Germany’s HVB and Italy’s UniCredito.

Elsewhere in the sector, however, Paragon gained 2.2 percent to 485½p and Northern Rock was up 0.4 percent to 810½p. In the insurance sector, rumors that Prudential was thinking of acquiring Royal & Sun Alliance sent shares in both companies lower.

RSA fell 0.3 percent to 95½p and Prudential was down by 1.2 percent to 500½p.

Companies that rely heavily on oil products were down on the day as crude oil prices rose again. British Airways lost 1.8 percent to 288¾p, while cruise operator Carnival fell 2.7 percent to £28.85.