The FTSE 100 gained 29.6 points to 5,344.3 and the FTSE 250 lost 6.6 points to 7,673.9 in a mixed day on the London equities markets. Volume was 2.9 billion shares, helped by share placings by several mid-cap companies.

The oil sector was higher on crude oil price gains. BP was up 1.9 percent to 649 ½p. BHP Billiton also gained 1.9 percent to close at 840p.

In the banking sector, Standard Chartered added 7.6 percent to £12.11, an all-time high based on better than predicted interim results, an acquisition of Korea First, a South Korean bank, as well as on speculation that US banking group Citigroup might be interested in bidding for Standard Chartered.

Barclays gained 1 percent to 582p on an upgrade to “buy” and a raised target price of 640p per share from Deutsche Bank. Royal Bank of Scotland, however, lost 1.6 percent to £16.22 on a lowered earnings estimate for 2006 and 2007 by ABN Amro.

Life assurance company Prudential gained 0.5 percent to 524 ¼p after Credit Suisse First Boston increased its price target to 560p.

Meanwhile, telecommunications equipment manufacturer Marconi gained 14.7 percent to 306 ¼p when it said it was involved in talks with Huawei Technologies of China, a privately owned company, on a number of issues.