The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.9 percent this week to 1,370.43. However, it added 2.6 percent during the month and gained 8 percent during the first quarter of 2006. The week’s losses were put to profit-taking amid worries about rising interest rates in both the eurozone and the United States.

Among gainers on the week were the oil sector. Statoil gained 5.3 percent to NKr189 and Neste Oil added 4.4 percent to €28.37. Elsewhere, ENI received permission from the European Commission to build a higher stake in Galp Energia, the Portuguese oil company. The news sent Energias de Portugal up 6.9 percent to €3.24 on speculation that the Portuguese energy sector could see further mergers and acquisitions.

Swiss biotechnology company Serono dropped 1.9 percent to SFr908.50 on speculation that it might be looking to buy elsewhere. Earlier in the week it had been thought that it might receive bids itself. Meanwhile Bayer, the German pharmaceuticals group, lost 6.7 percent to €33.06 after it raised €2.3 billion in a convertible bond issue so that it can buy Schering. Merck had earlier dropped out of the bidding.

Danish shipping group Moller Maersk was down 9.9 percent on the week to DKr52,900 on disappointing profits for 2005. It warned that low freight rates and rising oil prices will send profits 10 - 15 percent lower in 2006 than they were last year.

In Europe on Tuesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.5 percent to 1,364.9 on worries that both US and eurozone interest rates could be going up again soon. The likelihood that eurozone rates could go up again was increased by new data on German business confidence that was up more than had been expected.

The telecommunications sector was instrumental in the declines after the European Commission said it will cut international roaming charges on calls made from mobile phones. The plan could cut charges to consumers by as much as 60 percent. UK mobile company Vodafone was down 4 percent to 119½p. Spanish company Telifonica Moviles lost 0.8 percent to €10.74. TeliaSonera, listed in Stockholm, dropped 1.3 percent to SKr46.40.

There were also losses among fixed-line telecommunications companies. Hellenic Telecom dropped 3 percent to €17.80, Telekom Austria was down 2.5 percent to €19.42, and France Telecom declined by 1.5 percent to €18.71.

Among insurers, Alleanza of Italy was down 4.9 percent to €9.95 even though it said net profits would be up by 30 percent by 2008. Swiss Life dropped 4 percent to SFr266 as investors worried that most of its 44 percent profits in 2005 had been due to one-time income.

In the biotechnology sector, Swiss company Serono added 2 percent to SFr933 on rumors that a bid for the company would be forthcoming soon.

In Europe on Friday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.5 percent to 1,383.19. The day’s gain helped the Eurofirst to add 1 percent on the week.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Schering was up 4.6 percent on the week to €86.30 on an offer from Bayer that was higher than an earlier bid from Merck, which withdrew its bid on the grounds that it could not justify upping its offer. Even though WestLB issued a downgrade on Bayer from “add” to “hold” because it considered the possible deal “ambitious”, Bayer still added 6.8 percent on the week to €35.42. Merck, meanwhile, gained 1.4 percent to €80.99 on a reiteration of WestLB’s “buy” recommendation. Elsewhere in the sector, Sanofi-Aventis was up by 5.2 percent to €77.45 on news that a patent dispute had been settled.

In the automobile manufacturing sector, Volkswagen gained 6.7 percent to €62.13, while Fiat was up 7.6 percent to €10.01. BMW added 8.8 percent to €46.01 on indications that it will do well this year.

French telecom equipment maker Alcatel gained 1.6 percent to €13.05 on Friday, a two-year high, bringing its advance for the week to 8.9 percent. The gains came on news that it had re-entered merger talks with US company Lucent Technologies. Rumors that a merger would prompt Alcatel to sell its 9.5 percent stake in defense group Thales. This sent shares in Thales up 4.5 percent on Friday, to €37.65.

In Europe on Thursday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.1 percent on the day to close at 1,376.57, down for the first time on over two weeks of trading sessions. On the other hand, Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax gained 0.3 percent to 5,947.11 several German companies saw advances on the day.

Utilities were down as merger talks remained in the news. Italy’s Enel dropped 0.7 percent to €7.02 despite a 48 percent gain in net profits for the full year and the announcement of an increased dividend. Suez also dropped 0.7 percent to €34.37, while Gaz de France declined by 0.9 percent.

Banks were up, led by Commerzbank, which added 2.9 percent to €31.94 on an upgrade to “buy” from UBS. Goldman Sachs raised its earnings predictions on several Nordic banks, sending their shares up as well. SEB gained 2.5 percent to SKr186.50, while Nordea Bank was up 1.3 percent to SKr95, Swedbank added 1.2 percent to SKr213.50, and SHB rose 0.5 percent to SKr211.

Swiss watchmaker Swatch lost 2.2 percent to SFr220.10 on a profits report that did not meet expectations.

Among the companies that helped the Xetra Dax on the day were Schering, Lufthansa, and Infineon. Chipmaker Infineon gained 8.5 percent to €8.92, while pharmaceutical company Schering was up 2.7 percent to €85.23 on reports that Bayer was thinking about bidding for the company, which is already facing a hostile takeover attempt from Merck. Lufthansa added 5.4 percent to €14.52 on the announcement that it’s full year operating profits were up by 51 percent.

In Europe on Tuesday the FTSE Eurofirst 300 hit another four and a half year high to close 0.1 percent higher to 1,373.56.

The gain came even though shares in the oil sector were down as crude oil prices dropped early in the day. Total and Eni dropped 1 percent each, to €210.90 and €23.21 respectively. Statoil declined by 2 percent to NKr171.50.

Stock exchange operators were down as well as bid rumors began to subside. German exchange Deutsche Borse was down 2.4 percent on the day to €114.43, while Euronext dropped by 1.3 percent to €61.55.

The banking sector was mixed on the day. ABN Amro was up on reports that BBVA was thinking of bidding for the Dutch bank, gaining 2.7 percent to €25.68 after going as high as €25.78 earlier in the day. BBVA, however, dropped 0.8 percent to €17.

Banco Santander Central Hispano declined by 0.1 percent to €12.07 on talk that it might be looking for more foreign purchases after recently buying a UK mortgage lender. Smaller Spanish banks were up, however, with Banco Popular gaining 4.3 percent to €12.52 and Bankinter adding 0.5 percent to €57.10.

Icelandic banks were down on the day after Danske Bank issued a prediction that the economy there is poised to enter a recession. Kaupthing dropped 3.9 percent to IKr878, while Landsbanki declined by 4.3 percent to IKr26.50 and Glitnir fell 4.2 percent to IKr18.20.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.1 percent on Friday and gained 1.1 percent over the week to close at 1,369.38. Mergers and acquisitions provided most of the activity during the week.

Doubts that a widely-touted merger between Deutsche Borse and Euronext would come to anything did not hurt the shares of either stock market operator. Deutsche Borse was up 13.2 percent over the week, ending at €117.74, while Euronext was up 15.5 percent to €63.50. Some analysts said that such a merger would face a number of problems, including a monopoly on the derivatives market but not least where the headquarters of the newly created company would be located.

Analysts also had questions about a rumor that Zurich Financial Services is in discussions with US company St. Paul Travelers concerning a merger. Despite the questions, ZFS was up 4.7 percent on the day and gained 5.4 percent over the week to close at SFr316 on Friday.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Schering was up and Merck was down over the week after Schering rejected an offer worth €77 per share from Merck. Merck dropped 4.6 percent to €79.90, while Schering gained 24 percent to €82.85.

In the automobile manufacturing sector, BMW was up 4.3 percent to €42.30 after it issued a positive guidance report that prompted a number of brokers to upgrade the carmaker’s shares.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained only a fraction on the day to close at 1,368.74 on Thursday on mixed results in several sectors.

The telecommunications sector saw investors’ interest raised after Spanish company Telefonica announced that it will buy out minority shares of Telefonaica Moviles. Shares in Moviles were 2.2 percent higher at the close, at €10.72, after having gone as high as €11.50 during the day. However, Telefonica closed at €13.20, down 0.9 percent on the day.

The automobile manufacturing sector was up on the day. BMW was barely up, closing at €42.72 even though it had been upgraded from “neutral” to “buy” by Merrill Lynch. Fiat was up as well, by 1.9 percent to €9.31, on news that sales were up by 11.5 percent in February, taking its market share to 8.8 percent. Also helping Fiat was data showing car registrations in Europe up by 2.1 percent. Renault gained 1.1 percent to €82.90 even though sales were down by 5.7 percent in February, reducing its market share from 10.2 percent to 9.4 percent.

In utilities Gaz de France was up 2.6 percent to €30.31on an increased dividend and a forecast for more increases in profits in 2006.

Among stock market operators, Deutsche Borse added 2.8 percent to €117.21on its upcoming merger with Euronext, which also saw an advance, gaining 2.1 percent to €64.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.2 percent to 1,366.30, a new four and a half year high, on Tuesday, largely on advances in the automobile manufacturing sector.

BMW added 2.9 percent to €41.87 after having gone as high as €42.57 earlier in the day. The gain came after UBS upgraded the company’s shares to “buy” from “neutral” and increased its target share price to €49, up from €37. Elsewhere in the sector, Volkswagen was up 2.7 percent to €57.66 and Peugeot gained 3.6 percent to €49.77.

Mergers and acquisitions were still on the agenda. In the banking sector, Millennium BCP, Portugal’s largest publicly traded bank, gained 4.5 percent to €2.54 on a largely positive response to its bid for Banco BPI, a smaller competitor. BPI’s shares dropped 2.8 percent to €5.68 on the news.

Stock market operator Euronext reported slightly higher than expected profits in 2005 and said it was interested in merging with Deutsche Borse. Euronext’s shares dropped 1.1 percent on the news, to €60.95, while Deutsche Borse gained 2.1 percent to €114.20.

Elsewhere, Deutsche Post was down 7.1 percent to €21.11 as it warned that its express courier service in the US could lose more money and predicted that group operating profits in 2006 would be flat.

European equities markets were up on the week, with the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gaining 0.8 percent on Friday and the same amount over the week to close at 1,354.22. Much of the gains came from the banking sector , which saw advances amid speculation about more consolidation among Italian banks.

Among the Italian banking sector, Capitalia gained 7.2 percent on the week to €6.85 and Banca Intesa was up 3.7 percent to €5.07 amid rumors that the two institutions were in talks. Elsewhere, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena advanced by 6.3 percent to €4.53 on speculation that it might be a takeover target.

French banks were up as well, with Societe Generale gaining 2.6 percent to €120 on a report that Citigroup could be interested in bidding for the French bank. French investment back was up 6.8 percent to €191.70, also on merger talk.

Franco-Belgian utility Suez was up 9.5 percent on the week to €34.17 as rumors said that Enel could be looking to challenge the merger deal between Suez and Gaz de France.

Finnish pulp and paper group UPM-Kymmene had the best week on the Eurofirst with a gain of 10.5 percent to €19.63 after it revealed a plan to cut jobs and close plants in an effort to increase profits.

German engineering group Linde did almost as well, gaining 10.3 percent to €72.31 when it agreed to purchase BOC group for $14 billion.

Mergers and acquisitions again took center stage as European equities markets dropped on Wednesday, with the FTSE Eurofirst 300 down to its lowest close in three weeks, dropping 0.8 percent to 1,333.17.

Utilities were still in the midst of a round of bids and counter bids. The board of Enel met to consider how to react to a planned merger between Suez and Gaz de France, including mulling a possible bid for Suez. Suez gained 3.2 percent on the day to €34.07, while Enel lost 0.7 percent to €6.853 and Gaz de France dropped 0.4 percent to €29.29.

Elsewhere, Dutch media group VNU agreed to be purchased by a group of private equity firms, although one asset management company holding around 2 percent of VNU’s shares said it would reject the bid and asked VNU’s board to let shareholders vote on a new sale process. Other shareholders were unlikely to support the request. VNU closed slightly lower at €28.75.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, up 1.8 percent as a whole, Sanofi-Aventis and Novartis were both higher after Morgan Stanley called stocks in the sector “very cheap”. Sanofi was up 2.5 percent to €72.65, while Novartis advanced by 1.1 percent to €71.35.

Hotel group Accor, meanwhile, dropped 7.4 percent to €47.47 after investors were disappointed by a reduced dividend and no clear guidance to where the company is headed.