The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 both saw gains on Friday and for the entire week, but both were lower for the second quarter of the year. The 100 ended the day 0.7 percent higher to 5,833.4. This meant a gain of 2.5 percent this week, but still left it 2.2 percent lower in the second quarter of 2006. The 250 ended the day up by 1.3 percent to 9,422.7, also a 2.5 percent gain for the week. It dropped 4.3 percent during the quarter, however. Trade volumes on the day were higher than they have been, with more than 3 billion shares trading hands.

Miners were up as the news of another interest rate hike in the United States sent metals prices higher. BHP Billiton gained 1.75 percent to £10.49, while Anglo American added 2.5 percent to £22.18 and Xstrata was up 3.1 percent to £20.50.

In the steel sector, Corus advanced by 2.5 percent to 456½p as rumors persisted that India’s Tata Steel is interested in making a bid.

Among utilities, Centrica added 4.1 percent to 285¼p after the head of Gazprom said during a news conference in Moscow that while there are not talks going on presently, he is still interested in purchasing the owner of British Gas. Gazprom recently bought Pennine Natural Gas, based in Cheshire.

In the semiconductor sector, Wolfson Microelectronics gained 4.3 percent to 115¼p on a reconfirmation of a “buy” recommendation from ABN Amro.

The London equities markets were higher on Thursday, helped out by better performance yesterday and today in the New York markets. The FTSE 100 added 1.99 percent to 5,791.5, while the FTSE 250 gained 1.1 percent to 9,303.5. There was a bit more activity, with 2.8 billion shares trading hands during the session.

In the banking sector, Lloyds TSB was up 2.3 percent to 529p amid rumors that Citibank was going to make an offer. HBOS advanced by 0.3 percent to 940p when Morgan Stanley successfully placed 12.5 million shares at that price on behalf of an institutional client.

Miners saw gains as Citigroup predicted that there would be further consolidation in the sector and as metals prices went higher. Xstrata gained 5.8 percent to £19.88, while Kazakhmys was up 5.9 percent to £11.76 and Vedanta Resources added 6.7 percent to £13.36.

The utilities sector, on the other hand, was down on the session. British Energy fell 0.4 percent to 671p, while Drax Group dropped 2.4 percent to 824p after the government released proposed quotas for the second phase of its Emissions Trading Scheme and ahead of its first-half trading report. The government plan allots Drax between 1 million and 1.5 million tonnes less in free allowances for emissions than had been expected.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, AstraZeneca was up 3.5 percent to £32.42 on an upgraded recommendation to “add” on better sales than expected for several of its products.

PartyGaming added 0.6 percent to 114¼p as rumors circulated that it will purchase a sports betting company.

The FTSE 100 was up by 0.5 percent to 5,678.6 in London on Wednesday as the oil sector saw gains as crude oil prices were up again. The FTSE 250, however, dropped slightly to 9,197.2. Trade volumes remained below average, with only 2.4 billion shares changing hands.

BP added 0.9 percent to 618½p, BG Group was up 1.2 percent to 707p, and Royal Dutch Shell gained 1.4 percent to £18.41. Merrill Lynch confirmed its “overweight” rating for the sector as a whole.

PartyGaming dropped 2.1 percent to 113½p. Analysts believe that the drop is due to selling of the internet gaming company’s stock, which they bought earlier this month when four of PartyGaming’s founders sold 5 percent of the company.

In the media sector, EMI added 8.4 percent to 307½p on the news that it has turned down an offer worth 320p per share from Warner Music.

Corus Steel added 1.3 percent to 434p amid rumors that it has received a bid from either Severstal of Russia or Tata Steel of India. Earlier in the week, Severstal failed to completel a deal with Arcelor.

In the utilities sector, Severn Trent dropped 3.1 percent to £11.35 and United Utilities fell 3.3 percent to 630p.

London equities markets were mixed again on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 0.5 percent lower to 5,652.3. The FTSE 250 was just slightly higher, up 0.02 percent. Trade volumes were low once again, with 2.5 billion shares changing hands as investors delayed moves until after the US Federal Reserve meets later in the week.

SAB Miller, which has been declining largely due to weakness in the South African rand, managed to gain 1.2 percent to 934p on a “buy” recommendation from Deutsche Bank, which said that despite currency issues the brewer is showing strong performance.

In the utilities sector, Centrica added 0.7 percent to 271p after ABN Amro repeated its “buy” recommendation on the stock and maintained its 321p target share price for the owner of British Gas.

The insurance sector was mixed, with Prudential up 0.5 percent to 567p as investors saw it as vulnerable to an approach after its 23.6 percent decline since it declined an offer from Aviva in March. Aviva declined by 0.2 percent to 737½p.

Miner Xstrata was down by 2.6 percent to £19.04 on concerns that it could increase its offer for Falconbridge. Phelps Dodge said Monday that it will buy the Canadian nickel miner.

Trade volumes remained low in the London equities markets on Monday, with a mere 2.5 billion shares trading hands. The FTSE 100 closed down 0.2 percent to 5,681.2, while the FTSE 250 added 0.02 percent to 9,197.1.

The mining sector was mixed. Anglo American was up 1.4 percent to £21.38 and Xstrata added 0.9 percent to £19.55 on talk that the two might merge. The rumors seem to have been spurred by an offer from Phelps Dodge to purchase Canadian miners Falconbridge and Inco. On the other hand, Corus dropped 0.5 percent to 428½p due to profit-taking.

Retailer Marks & Spencer gained 2.1 percent to 578p ahead of its first quarter trade update, which is upcoming on July 11. Analysts think that the report will be good enough to trigger earnings upgrades.

SABMiller was down 3.8 percent to 932p on currency weakness in regions where it sells its products. The brewer generates around 25 percent of its earnings in South Africa, where the rand is weak, and also has strong sales in Columbia where the peso has been struggling.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Shire Pharmaceuticals added 2.1 percent to 770½p after it was said that Swiss biotech firm Serono could be interested in bidding for the drug maker.

In London on Friday, trade in equities was slow again with only 2.1 billion shares changing hands during the session. The activity left the markets higher for the day, but only just, with the FTSE 100 adding 0.1 percent to 5,692.1 and the FTSE 250 up 0.03 percent, just 2.4 points, to close at 9,195.3. Both the 100 and the 250 were up for the week, by 1.7 percent and 1.1 percent respectively.

The oil sector was largely responsible for the 100’s gains on the day. Royal Dutch Shell gained 1.4 percent to £18.21, while BP was up 2 percent to 617p. Deutsche Bank put its target share price for BP at 800p, and issued an upgrade for Shell to “buy” and set its target share price to £21.

Energy companies saw advances as well, spurred on by news that in the US Anadarko Petroleum has purchased both Kerr-McGee and Western Gas Resources in separate cash deals. BG Group gained 2.7 percent to 695p, while Cairn Energy added 4.8 percent to £20.71.

SABMiller dropped 1.5 percent to 960p after comments from Merrill Lynch said that the brewer might have to cut its earnings forecasts due to continuing weakness in the South African rand, which was at a two and a half year low of 7.53 rand to the dollar on Friday. SABMiller has lost almost 18 percent since May 11.

In the construction materials sector, Wolseley added 0.5 percent to £11.55 and Hanson was up 2 percent to 651½p as the US dollar gained value in relation to sterling. Because both companies get a large portion of their profits in dollars but report earnings in sterling, those earnings show a boos when the dollar strengthens.

Persimmon gained 1.3 percent to £12.09 after UBS reaffirmed its “buy” recommendation and set a target share price of £16.35 in anticipation of the homebuilder’s half-year results, due next week.

In London on Thursday equities markets were up as the FTSE 100 closed at 5,684.1, a gain of 0.3 percent, while the FTSE 250 added 1.1 percent to 9,192.8. Trade volumes are still lower than average, with 2.85 billion shares traded during the day. So far this week, the 100 has risen 1.5 percent and the 250 is up 1 percent.

Among homebuilders, Persimmon added 4.1 percent to £11.93 amid rumors that it is looking for a new purchase.

PartyGaming was up 3.1 percent to 123p, also on rumors that it is looking to buy. The talk is that the online gaming company wants to purchase a “bricks and mortar” gaming business.

Compass Group gained 3.6 percent to 258p, bringing its rise since last week Wednesday to 12.6 percent on the news that US investors have been buying shares in the contract caterer.

Construction company WS Atkins added 8.7 percent to 840p on full-year earnings that beat expectations, making it the biggest gainer on the 250 for the day.

The best-performing stock on the 100 was pest control group Rentokil Initial, which gained 4.5 percent to 149¾p on an upgrade from “underperform” to “outperform” and a new target share price of 171p from Morgan Stanley.

In the airlines sector, EasyJet added 2.8 percent to 392¾p on comments from Citigroup. British Airways, however, dropped 5.9 percent to 346p after it became known that its offices had been raided by the Office of Fair Trading in the course of a US/UK investigation into price-fixing.

London equities markets were mixed on Wednesday as the FTSE 100 added 0.12 percent late in the day to close at 5,665, but the FTSE 250 lost 0.3 percent to 9,093.1. Once again, volumes were low with only 2.5 billion shares changing hands.

Eighteen percent of all the shares traded on the day were from Vodafone, which ended the day up 0.2 percent to 114¼p.

The 100’s gains were helped by the mining sector, where stocks advanced as the prices of metals rose. Vedanta Resources added 2.5 percent to £13.09, while Lonmin gained 2.9 percent to £26.41 and Kazakhmys was up 3.1 percent to £10.95.

Online gamer PartyGaming added 3.25 percent to 119¼p on rumors that one US bank was telling its customers to buy shares because current attempts to make online gambling illegal in the US will not succeed.

In the media sector, ITV added 2.7 percent to 105¼p despite a negative trading update, as the broadcaster announced an increase in its share buyback.

Mitchells & Butlers added 0.4 percent to 505¼p. However, analysts said that it could have trouble on Thursday after an after-session announcement that Violet Capital, controlled by financier Robert Tchenguiz, no longer owns a reportable share of the pub operator.

In London on Monday, the FTSE 100 added 0.5 percent to 5,626.1, while the FTSE 250 was up 0.2 percent to 9,114.1. Trade was light, with just barely over 2 billion shares changing hands during the day. Light trade is expected to last throughout the week as investors are distracted by the World Cup.

Among media companies, ITV - down 17 percent since March, when it rejected an offer from a private equity consortium - was up slightly to 105¼p on the possibility that it might announce an increased share buyback and more cost-cutting measures on Wednesday. Elsewhere in the sector, BSkyB gained 2.3 percent to 564p on positive comments from Lehman Brothers. EMI added 2.8 percent to 278¾p when Credit Suisse raised the music group’s target share price from 300p to 310p. In addition, there was talk that EMI might revise its offer for Warner Music.

Hotel operator De Vere added 3 percent to 824p on weekend reports that said four different bidders have expressed interest. The latest possible bidder named is Richard Balfour-Lynn, the head of Marylebone Warwick Balfour, which gained 3.3 percent to 189½p.

In the insurance sector, Royal Sun & Alliance was up 2.8 percent to 126½p on the news that it will eliminate 1,550 jobs as a cost-cutting measure. Prudential added 3.2 percent to 566p. In addition, Friends Provident was up to 174¾p, while Legal & General climbed to 125¾p.

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.