Trade in the London equities markets was slow again on Tuesday, as only 2.6 billion shares changed hands on the session. Still, both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 saw gains on the day. The 100 added just 0.03 percent to 6,242, while the 200 was 0.2 percent higher to 11,131.

The energy sector was mixed. Reports that it was having problems at two of its nuclear power stations sent British Energy 3.9 percent lower to 444p, amid further reports that it is being hurt by dropping wholesale prices for power. Bids rumors helped Scottish & Southern Energy to hold steady at £14.75, while Drax Group added 2.2 percent to 690½p as investors hoped for higher dividends.

J Sainsbury added 0.6 percent to 435p on rumors that a private equity house could be considering a bid. Numis Securities repeated its “buy” recommendation on the supermarket and said that the value of its properties could be an attraction.

In the food and beverages sector, Cadbury Schweppes added 1.4 percent to 576½p on multiple rumors that included the possibility of a bid from private equity and a spin off of its soft drinks unit.

Medical devices manufacturer Smith & Nephew was 1.8 percent higher to 577½p ahead of its full-year report, due next week. Analysts said that it was helped by good reports from US rivals Zimmer and Stryker.

Vodafone dropped 1.3 percent to 147p ahead of a trading update, due Wednesday.

The London equities markets were mixed on Monday as only 2.5 billion shares traded hands on the session. The FTSE 100 added 0.2 percent to 6,239.9, but the FTSE 250 dropped 0.1 percent to 11,104.

In the airlines sector, British Airways added 2.7 percent to 542p as investors were relieved that a threatened 2-day strike by cabin crew members had been avoided.

Tobacco did well ahead of results due later in the week from British American Tobacco. Citigroup said that BAT could return an estimated £1.5 billion to shareholders without harm to its credit rating. The figure was much higher than the £500 million it currently returns each year. BAT gained 2.8 percent to a record high share price of £15.60. Imperial Tobacco was 0.8 percent higher, to £21.24.

Publisher Yell Group gained 1.5 percent to 608p on positive comments from Merrill Lynch.

Pubs operator Mitchells & Butlers was 1 percent higher to 686½p on reaction to the news that financier Robert Tchenguiz has increased his holding in the company to almost 15 percent.

Brewer SABMiller dropped 1.1 percent to £11.70 as Goldman Sachs took it off it’s “buy” list on valuation concerns.

J. Sainsbury also fell 1.1 percent, to 432½p, as one shareholider placed 12 million shares with Morgan Stanley. The shares were priced at 432p each.

In London on Friday, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.7 percent to 6,228. This translated to a gain of 0.1 percent for the week. Meanwhile the FTSE 250 was down 0.5 percent on the day to 11,118.6, 0.4 percent higher over the week as a whole.

The tobacco sector was higher. BAT added 1.2 percent to £15.17, while Imperial Tobacco ended 2.6 percent higher to £21.06 as Citigroup said that BAT will likely get more return to shareholders both this year and next.

In the food and beverages sector, Cadbury Schweppes added 0.7 percent to 564p on new bids rumors that had private equity interested. US chocolate maker Hershey’s was also seen as a possible merger partner after its less-than-spectacular report earlier in the week.

The leisure sector was also hit by merger talk surrounding Rank Group, which gained 1.6 percent to 226½p.

Miners were lower on the day, with Xstrata the biggest loser among blue-chip stocks as it dropped 3.2 percent to £23.47. The pharmaceuticals sector was also down, with Shire falling 1.6 percent to £10.81 on a downgrade from Citigroup.

Among banks, Lloyds TSB was 0.3 percent lower to 583½p even though HSBC issued an increased recommendation, from “neutral” to “overweight”, and set a target share price of 630p.

The FTSE 100 dropped 0.6 percent to 6,269.3 in London on Thursday, while the FTSE 250 was 0.2 percent lower to 11,171.1. The 100 briefly reached a six-year high, at 6,335.1, early in the session but dropped later on the slow start in the New York markets.

Real estate was higher on the session after JP Morgan reminded that the UK sector is currently a better bargain than its European rivals. Hammerson added 0.2 percent to £15.03, while British Land was 0.6 percent higher to £16.21.

Publisher Pearson added 0.9 percent to 817½p on bids rumors and after Citigroup upped its target share price to 900p.

The pharmaceuticals sector declined after Credit Suisse said that the sector would extend its underperformance into this year after a sector-wide decline of 5.2 percent last year, mentioning the trouble companies were having bringing new drugs to market and keeping them there once introduced. Shire dropped 1 percent to £10.99, while AstraZeneca fell 1.3 percent to £28.44 and GlaxoSmithKline was 1.4 percent lower to £13.93.

In a related news, medical devices manufacturer Smith & Nephew was 1.4 percent lower to 570½p after it was suggested that its next report might not show as much of an improvement in margins as is hoped.

Both the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250 were higher on Wednesday. The 100 added 1.4 percent to 6,314.8, its highest close since January 3, while the 250 was 0.8 percent higher to 11,192.8.

The oil sector gained on the announcement that the United States plans to double the size of its strategic oil reserves by buying an extra 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day, as well as on a report that Dominion Resources, a US company, had received a bid. BP added 0.6 percent to 548½p, while Royal Dutch Shell gained 1.2 percent to £17.39.

Banks were up as well. Alliance & Leicester was 2.6 percent higher to £11.11, while Royal Bank of Scotland gained 2.9 percent to £21.03 and Northern Rock added 4.1 percent to £12.12 on higher profits than expected and record mortgage lending.

In the mining sector, Kazakhmys added 4.8 percent to £11.19 on a positive broker recommendation. Vedanta Resources was 5.8 percent higher to £11.90 on takeover rumors.

Properties groups benefited after the most recent Bank of England meeting minutes were revealed, showing that the vote was very close on the interest rate hike earlier this month. The closeness of the vote brought hope that interest rates would not be going up again soon, a positive sign for the properties market. British Land added 2.9 percent to £16.12, while Liberty International gained 4.4 percent to £13.18.

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 markets were higher on Thursday, despite the fact that the FTSE 100 dropped almost 45 points late in the session after early trade on Wall Street was weak. The 100 added 0.1 percent to 6,210.3, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.2 percent to 11,122.9.

Pubs operator Enterprise Inns was the best performer on the 100 for the session. It added 4.3 percent to 658p when Deutsche Bank reconfirmed its “buy” recommendation and 790p target share price. Additionally, Deutsche Bank said that Enterprise would return 50 percent more to shareholders in 2007 than it did in 2006.

InterContinental Hotels Group also did very well with more than 16 million shares changing hands on rumors that Starwood Capital could be interested in a bid. InterContinental gained 3 percent to £12.55.

Wolseley was 1.8 percent higher to £13.23 when Merrill Lynch repeated its “buy” recommendation for the plumbing and building materials group.

Speciality chemicals company ICI dropped 0.2 percent to 478p in spite of rumored activity in the sector. Rumors had it that a consortium of private equity groups are looking to bid on Dow Chemical for the purpose of breaking the company up.

London equities markets were lower on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 down 0.2 percent to 6,204.5 and the FTSE 250 down 0.3 percent to 11,094.6. Volume was at an active 3.5 billion shares traded on the session.

The retail sector was widely mixed. J Sainsbury was 0.6 percent higher to 427p on rumors that a group of Icelandic investors had bought a stake of nearly 3 percent in the supermarket.

On the other hand, department store Debenhams was 0.4 percent lower to 170¼p after going as low as 168¾p earlier in the session on rumors that an investor has taken advantage of low its low share price to build a stake. A volume of 40 million shares in the company changing hands on Tuesday and 33 million more shares traded on Wednesday added substance to the rumors.

Electrical retailer DSG International, meanwhile, fell 12 percent to 171p on a trading statement that disappointed.

Publishers had a good day. Reed Elsevier gained 0.4 percent to 598½p, while Pearson was up 3 percent to 824½p after it was said that private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts might be interested.

In the oil sector, Royal Dutch Shell dropped 0.2 percent to £17.11 on the low price of oil.

SABMiller added 4.7 percent for the best performance on the 100, trading at £12.26. The brewer’s fiscal third quarter figures were better than had been anticipated.

London equities markets were lower on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 dropping 0.8 percent to 6,215.7 and the FTSE 250 falling 0.7 percent to 11,124.5.

The tobacco sector was mixed on bids rumors. Gallaher was 0.3 percent higher to £11.38 after it was said that Japan Tobacco could be working to purchase more stock. After the close these rumors were borne out as Japan Tobacco said it had added 6.3 million additional shares. Imperial Tobacco, however, dropped 0.5 percent to £20.99, hurt by a report that it would bid for Spanish cigarette maker Altadis sometime during the year.

There were mixed results in the energy sector as well. Scottish Power was 0.1 percent higher, to 742½p. Scottish & Southern Energy added 2.2 percent to £15.60 for the largest gain of the session on the 100. Both gains came amid bids rumors. Two other energy companies were lower on the session even though they are seen as more likely targets. Kelda dropped 0.1 percent to 926½p, while Centrica fell 0.8 percent to 355¼p.

In the retail sector, Kingfisher dropped 2.1 percent to 232½p on a downgrade of its long-term credit rating by Standard & Poor’s and a lowered earnings estimate from Lehman Brothers. J. Sainsbury, on the other hand, added 0.8 percent to 424½p on rumors that Lord Sainsbury of Turnville’s 15 percent stake in the supermarket is the target of a financial buyer.

The FTSE 100 ended the day and the week ahead on Friday, while the FTSE 250 saw declines for both the session and this week. The 100 added 0.1 percent during the day and was 0.3 percent higher on the week to close at 6,239. Meanwhile the 250 dropped 0.1 percent on Friday and 0.7 percent on the week to 11,111.7.

The pharmaceuticals sector was helped by a vote in the US House of Representatives that would let the government negotiate directly with drug companies on the prices of drugs for Medicare recipients. GlaxoSmithKline was 0.5 percent higher to £13.71, while AstraZeneca gained 1.3 percent to £28.73.

Bids rumors sent Woolworths up 3 percent to 34p. Baugur, which currently owns 10 percent of the retailer, is said to be considering offering a bid of 40p per share. Ladbrokes was helped by talk of a possible bid from private equity, gaining 2.4 percent to 449¼p.

In the oil sector, BP was 1.8 percent higher to 546½p on the news that its chief executive will retire in July, to be replaced by the company’s head of exploration and production.

Lloyds TSB added 1.7 percent to 593p on the possibility that its dividend could go up and after Cazenove upped its recommendation to “outperform”.