In Europe on Wednesday the FTSE Eurofirst 300 came within two points of a five and a half year high as it closed up 1.1 percent to 1,487.89.

Technology sectors saw gains on the session. SAP, the software group, was 1.6 percent higher to €40.25. Meanwhile, in the semiconductors sector, ASML gained 2.7 percent to €18.66.

Lufthansa added 1 percent to €20.89 in the wake of an announcement last Friday that it will sell its 50 percent stake in Thomas Cooke. Dresdner Kleinwort called the sale a move “in the right direction”, reiterating its “buy” recommendation on the air carrier and increasing its target share price from €20 to €21.60.

Sacyr Vallehermoso was 2.2 percent higher to €47.02 although JP Morgan began coverage by rating the Spanish builder at “underweight” and setting a target share price of €36, citing concerns about the purchase of a 20 percent stake in oil company Repsol and what it called a “very high” purchase price for road concession operator Europistas.

The Norwegian oil sector was mixed in the aftermath of an announced merger between Statoil and Norsk Hydro. While Norsk Hydro added 1.6 percent to NKr191, Statoil dropped 0.9 percent to NKr162.50 even though S&P reiterated its “strong buy” recommendation.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 1.1 percent to 1,472.65 during the week as trade was light as the Christmas holiday approached.

Among the losers on the week was the Spanish construction sector. Sacyr-Vallehermoso, which dropped 7.4 percent to €46 after it said it has taken a bank loan of €5.175 billion to pay for its purchase of 20 percent of oil company Repsol. JP Morgan began coverage of the Spanish construction company with a rating of “underweight” and a target share price of €36. Meanwhile, Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas dropped 7.6 percent to €76.10 when Banesto dropped its recommendation on FCC from “overweight” to “neutral”.

On the other hand, after seeing tough times due to delays in the construction of the Airbus A380, EADS added 5.7 percent during the week to €25.77 after it received new orders from Qantas and from Singapore Airlines.

In the oil sector, Norsk Hydro had a very good week, adding 20.3 percent to NKr188 after it announced that it will merge its oil and gas production business with Statoil. It will keep its aluminium operations separate. Statoil, however, dropped 5.2 percent to NKr164 despite positive reaction to the deal from most brokers when Citigroup downgraded its recommendation from “buy” to “hold”.

Swiss watch makers saw gains on exports that were up 13 percent in November compared to last year at the same time. Swatch was up 3 percent to SFr54.15, while Richemont added 4.1 percent to SFr70.50.

After gains early in the session, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 ended at 1,4479, a decline of 0.2 percent. Several sectors contributed to the decline.

Still, there were gainers on the session. In the luxury goods sector, Swatch Group added 0.8 percent to SFr54.00, while Richemont, which owns the Cartier brand of watches, gained 3 percent to SFr71.35, a record high. The advances came on hopes that Christmas spending would benefit the companies.

The French utilities sector was higher on new rumors about takeovers. Gaz de France was 1.6 percent higher to €34.23, while Suez gained 2.1 percent to €38.57 despite questions about the proposed merger between the two. Analysts saw the merger as less and less likely after news that shareholders might not vote on approval before the beginning of July. That would delay final government approval of the deal until after French presidential elections in May, with a new government seen as less likely to extend approval. Additionally, a French billionaire is said to be thinking of bidding for Suez.

Aerospace company EADS added 2.2 percent to €25.79 after Australian airline Qantas ordered eight more of the delayed Airbus A380, upping its order to twenty of the superjumbo jets.

In the oil sector, Total dropped 0.2 percent to €54.50 even though Deutsche Bank reaffirmed its “buy” recommendation on the French oil company, saying that European oil companies are currently trading at record lows.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.6 percent lower on Tuesday to 1,477.94 as the oil and steel sectors declined on lower prices for commodities.

In the steel sector, ThyssenKrupp dropped 1 percent to €33.27 even though UBS hiked its target share price when the broker left its recommendation at “neutral”. Salzgitter was also lower, falling 3.8 percent to €96.59 after Credit Suisse reduced its recommendation from “outperform” to “neutral”.

Oil companies were also on the losing end for the session. After a gain of 20 percent on Monday, Norsk Hydro dropped 0.7 percent to NKr187.25. The decline came after Dresdner Kleinwort said that the Monday gains, coming after the announcement of a merger between Norsk Hydro and Statoil, were out of proportion. The broker cut its recommendation on Norsk Hydro to “sell”. Statoil was down 3.1 percent on the session, to NKr164.75, even though JP Morgan said that the merger makes sense for the oil company.

Elsewhere in the oil sector, declines came after Monday’s drop in crude oil prices. Total was 0.9 percent lower to €54.50 as OMV dropped 1.2 percent to €43.33.

In the telecommunications sector, Swisscom added 1.1 percent to SFr457.25 after it said that it will buy back a 25 percent share of Swisscom Mobile from UK company Vodafone. The news spurred Citigroup to hike Swisscom’s target share price from SFr430 to SFr452.50. Meanwhile, hopes of continued privatization sent Hellenic Telecom 1.9 percent higher to €23.72.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.1 percent to 1,487.41 on Monday, its first losing session after ten consecutive gains. In Norway, however, the Oslo All-Share index added 1.8 percent after Norsk Hydro saw big gains on the session.

The gain for Norsk Hydro, 20.6 percent to NKr188.50, came after rival Statoil said the two will merge their oil and gas businesses to become the largest offshore oil operation in the world. Norsk’s aluminium business will continue as a stand-alone. The news sent Statoil down 1.7 percent to NKr170 after gains earlier in the session, closing at NKr170. The decline for Statoil came despite a “strong buy” rating from S&P Equitiy Research, which also set a 12-month target share price of NKr194.

The telecommunications sector was mixed on the day. Telecom Italia added 0.2 percent to €2.32, but both France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom saw declines. France Telecom dropped 0.2 percent to €20.94, but is still up 35 percent from its low point of the year, reached on August 11. Lehman Brothers issued positive comments, but WestLB was more pessimistic, downgrading its rating from “hold” to “reduce”. Deutsche Telekom fell 0.9 percent to €13.83 even though Credit Suisse upped its target share price from €10.50 to €12.50.

The insurance sector was also affected by broker actions. Italian insurer Generali dropped 1.1 percent to €34 on a downgrade from “add” to “reduce” from Dresdner Kleinwort.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 closed Friday at its highest level in five and a half years, adding 0.6 percent on the session and 2.8 percent higher on the week at 1,489.09. The Eurofirst has gone up 16.7 percent since the beginning of the year.

Banks were big gainers during the week. Nordea added 6.3 percent to SKr106.2 when Sampo of Finalnd was reported to have added to its stake in Swedish bank. Sampo gained 4.2 percent during the week to €20.38. ING was 6.8 percent higher to €33.68 and ABN Amro was up 7 percent to €24.30 on rumors that the two are in talks over a bid from ING.

Meanwhile, Raiffeisen International added 9.1 percent over the week on investor enthusiasm about its presence in central and eastern European markets. Citigroup began coverage of the Austrian bank with a “buy” recommendation, citing the potential value of Raiffeisen’s holdings in Russia and the Ukraine.

The retail sector saw gains, as well. Inditex, owner of the Zara fashion chain, gained 8 percent to €41.70 on the week on better than expected results in the third quarter. Ahold was 9.7 percent higher to €8.25 on rumors of a coming bid from private equity group KKR and on positive comments from UBS.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 ended the day at a five-year high as it closed 0.6 percent higher to 1,480.76. The gains came as analysts at Standard & Poor’s said that the active year in mergers and acquisitions could be topped by next year’s activity.

The airlines sector saw gains as investors looked for more consolidation in the sector after the recent record amount paid for the takeover of Qantas of Australia. Iberia was up 1.1 percent to €2.81, while Lufthansa added 1.3 percent to €20.87 and SAS gained 1.4 percent to SKr108.00.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Novo Nordisk added 2.5 percent to DKr468 on an upgrade from “hold” to “buy” from Citigroup. The broker also raised Novo’s target share price from DKr445 to DKr525, citing the positioning of the drug maker and healthcare group to capture more business as more and more people become diabetic. It also said that Novo’s growth potential from its anti-obesity drug had not yet been priced into to its share value.

Also in the healthcare sector, Nestle and Novartis both benefited from Nestle’s agreement to purchase Novartis’ medical nutrition unit for $2.5 billion. The deal was said to position Nestle second only to Numico in providing special foods for patients. Nestle added 1.5 percent on the news, to SFr436, while Novartis gained 1.8 percent to SFr71.35 and Numico was up 2.9 percent to €40.13.

In the automobile manufacturing sector, Porsche was 2 percent higher to €955.00 when HVB increased its target share price from €995 to €1,104. Meanwhile, Volkswagen was 0.2 percent lower to €84.00.

European equities markets were higher on Wednesday as the banking sector was mixed but mostly higher. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 closed at 1,471.57, a gain of 0.6 percent and just below a five-year high. In Germany, meanwhile, the Xetra Dax ended the session at 6,520.77, its highest closing level since February 2001.

French publisher Lagardere added 2.5 percent to €59.10 on an upgrade from “neutral” to “buy” from UBS, which said it sees the possibility of growth by the publisher. Elsewhere in France, utility EDF added 4.8 percent to €55.55, a record high share price, on hopes that tariffs will go up soon. EDF’s shares have risen more than 15 percent since the end of November. On the other hand, French airplane engine manufacturer Safran dropped 6 percent to €15.95 after announcing that it was investigating accounting problems in its defense security unit and dropping its full-year operating profit margin target to 4 percent.

Raiffeisen International was 6.1 percent higher to €107.13 on growth potential in central and eastern Europe, where the Austrian bank has extensive holdings. In addition, Citigroup began coverage of Raiffeisen with a “buy” rating and a target share price of €124. Among other Austrian banks, Erste Bank added 0.5 percent to €57.63. Erste also has exposure to eastern Europe.

Elsewhere in the sector, ABN Amro was 3 percent higher to €24.10 on the news that it has completed its purchase of Italian bank Antonveneta. There were also rumors that ING is interested in bidding for ABN, its larger Dutch rival. ING gained 2.2 percent to €33.16.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.4 percent on Tuesday to close at 1,462.53 as merger rumors continued in the banking sector.

There were gains in the retail sector. Carrefour added 2 percent to €47.22 after Tesco decided to buy the other half of China-based supermarket chain Hymall. The move underscored the value of the French retailer’s interests in that Asian nation. Ahold was 3.9 percent higher to €7.81 on speculation about the Dutch retailer’s restructuring after it agreed to sell part of its interests in the US last month. Some hedge fund investors are urging Ahold to completely divest itself of US holdings.

In the banking sector, Nordea added 6.7 percent to SKr107 after it became known that Sampo of Finland purchased 12.8 million more shares of the bank in November. Bids rumors circulated although some analysts said that Sampo was simply looking for a better position before the Swedish government sells its stake in Nordea. Sampo added 3.1 percent to €20.20 on the speculation, while Svenska Handelsbanken added 0.5 percent to SKr192.50 and SEB gained 2.6 percent to SKr213.00.

Stock exchange operator Deutsche Borse dropped 2.1 percent to €134.22 on a downgrade from “add” to “hold” from West LB, which cited valuation issues as a reason for its move.

In the electronics sector, meanwhile, Philips Electronics was 0.7 percent lower to €27.72 after its joint venture in South Korea, LG.Philips LCD, dropped almost 8 percent after being looked at by authorities concerning allegations of price fixing.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up on Monday on gains in the steel sector as it seemed that there could be a bidding war for Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus that could translate into wider consolidation in the sector. The Eurofirst was up 0.6 percent to 1,457.09.

The steel sector was not the only one that gained on bids and rumors of bids, however. Among stock exchanges, Deutsche Borse was 3.1 percent higher to €137.10 on a meager hope that Euronext’s tie-up with NYSE Group might not be as firmly settled as had been thought, making room for a bid from the German exchange operator. Euronext added 2.9 percent on the session ahead of a December 19 vote by shareholders on the merger with NYSE.

Bids rumors also helped Continental after General Capital Group would not rule out another bid after a failed attempt to buy the German tire maker earlier in the year. Continental was up 2.6 percent to €89. 69.

With prospects shaping up for a bidding war between CSN of Brazil and Tata of India, Corus added 5.4 percent to €7.80 as analysts said that while the Tata bid is more favorable from an employee point of view, Corus is obligated to act in the interests of its shareholders, who would benefit more from acceptance of the CSN bid. CSN is currently offering 515p per share, while Tata’s bid stands at 500p per share, raised on Sunday from a previous 455p bid. In Mumbai, Tata dropped 6 percent on the increased bid.

Elsewhere in the sector, ThyssenKrupp gained 1.5 percent to €32.13 after its target share price was revised upward by Goldman Sachs. Salzgitter was 1.6 percent higher to €97.22, Mittal Steel added 2.5 percent to €32.80, and Acerinox of Spain was up 2.7 percent to €21.77.