In the European equities markets, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost 0.4 percent to 1,224.74 on profit-taking based on higher oil prices.
The mining and retail sectors, as well as the automobile manufacturing sector, were down on the day.
The biggest winner in terms of percentage on the day was Neste Oil, which gained 3.4 percent to €31.48. Elsewhere in the sector, Statoil was up 1.2 percent to NKr166, but Saipem lost 0.2 percent to €13.95.
The automobile manufacturing sector saw losses across the board. Even though Morgan Stanley raised DaimlerChrysler’s earnings per share forecast for 2006 and 2007 after the carmaker announced job cuts in its Mercedes division Wednesday, shares in the car company fell 2.5 percent to €44.50. BMW lost 0.1 percent to €38.87 after Credit Suisse First Boston raised its target price from €40 to €48 and repeated its “outperform” rating. Peugeot lost 1.7 percent to €56.40, Renault fell 1.8 percent to €78.25, and Volkswagen declined 2.4 percent to €37.39.
In the banking sector, Italian bank Sanpaolo IMI gained a fraction to €12.91 and Ersle Bank rose 1.8 percent to €43.49.
The steel sector also saw gains. Anglo-Dutch company Corus gained 1.3 percent to €0.78 when UBS upgraded the rating on its shares from “neutral” to “buy”. UBS raised the price target on Arcelor as it increased steel price forecasts by 5 percent for 2006 and 2007. As a result, Arcelor was up 0.3 percent to €19.45. ThyseenKrupp was up 1.9 percent to 17.32, while Spanish stainless steel company Acerinox added 0.6 percent to €11.44.