After reaching a six-year high on Monday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 finished the week more or less exactly where it began, closing at 1,543.71 at the end of Friday’s session. Banks were mixed, as was the automobile manufacturing sector. Insurance was up.

In the insurance sector, Allianz (NYSE: AZ; LSE: ALV) added 5.4 percent to €164.07 after it reported strong results and offered positive guidance. France’s Axa (Euronext: CS; NYSE: AXA) was also higher, gaining 2.4 percent to €33.51. Elsewhere in the sector, Converium added 14.9 percent to SFr21.60 as investors hoped it could get a better offer out of Scor after it rejected the French reinsurer’s bid of SFr21 per share.

Among banks, ABN Amro (Euronext: AAB; NYSE: ABN) and Banco Santander (LSE: BNC; NYSE: STD) were higher but Italian banks Capitalia and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena declined. Santander added 0.3 percent on the week to €14.54, while Amro added 10 percent to €27.94 on sale rumors. Siena was 0.4 percent lower to €5.05, while Capitalia dropped 2.6 percent to €6.86.

In the automobile manufacturing sector, Volkswagen was up 8.1 percent during the week to €94.94 on strong results for the full year. DaimlerChrysler dropped 3.6 percent to €53.80 after VW said it was not interested in its US Chrysler division.

In Europe on Tuesday the FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.3 percent to 1,544.99. The real estate and oil sectors were lower, while carmakers saw gains.

Porsche (Xetra: POR3; FWB: POR3) added 2.7 percent to €1,058.31, while Volkswagen (OTC: VLKAY) gained 8 percent to €94.94 on a full-year report that showed operating profit up 52 percent in 2006.

Brewers were mixed after Carlsberg (OMX: CARL A, CARL B) said that higher capital expenditures would limit 2007 profit growth. Even though its full-year report fulfilled expectations, the Danish brewer dropped 6.7 percent to DKr583. Heineken (Euronext: HEIA) was also lower, by 2.3 percent to €39.36, ahead of its report that is due Wednesday.

Elsewhere in the sector, InBev (Euronext: INB; NYSE: ABV) gained 0.5 percent to €53.07 as rumors of a merger with Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) continue to circulate. Grolsch (Euronext: GROL) added 3.3 percent to €32.94 after it reported that full-year profits exceeded expectations and announced an extra dividend.

The oil sector declined on lower prices for crude oil. Total (Euronext: FP; NYSE: TOT) dropped 1.5 percent to €52.78, while Statoil (OSE: STL; NYSE: STO) fell 1.6 percent to NKr156.

In the real estate sector, Unibail (PAR: UL) was 1.3 percent lower to €235.80 on a downgrade from “buy” to “hold” from Deutsche Bank. Also hurting the sector as a whole was news out of the UK that rising interest rates there are hurting the market.

In Europe on Thursday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.1 percent to 1,545.98, hurt by declines in the banking sector. Brewers saw gains, however, on bids rumors.

With reports circulating that InBev is talking to US brewer Anhauser-Bush, and with analysts giving those rumors a good deal of credibility, the Belgian brewer added 4 percent to €52.80. Other European brewers were helped by the rumors, with Heineken gaining 2.3 percent to €40.26. Carlsberg was 2.7 percent higher to DKr615.

French banks were lower on the session. Societe Generale and BNP Paribas both were hurt by their quarterly reports after Societe Generale reported Wednesday and BNP issued its report today, saying that while net profits were above expectations, operating profits were weaker than had been hoped. SG dropped 1.7 percent to €135 while BNP fell 3.8 percent to €83.70. Elsewhere among French banks, Credit Agricole and Natixis were each 2.6 percent lower, to €32.25 and €21.48.

In the automobile manufacturing sector, DaimlerChrysler was 3.7 percent higher to €53.42 after it announced a restructuring for its US division and said that all options were on the table concerning its US operations, leading some to expect a spin-off or either a partial or full sale of the US unit.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.8 percent on the session Wednesday to close at 1,547.93. The metals sector saw gains on an upgrade for ThyssenKrupp, while in the oil sector Total was up on a report of record earnings for 2006.

In the automobile manufacturing sector, DaimlerChrysler added 4.6 percent to €51.50 after it announced a three-year plan to return its US division to profitability.

Banks were mixed on earnings reports. Societe General dropped 1.6 percent to €137.30 when it said that net income in the fourth quarter barely missed expectations after earnings dropped in its French retail banking division. On the other hand, Commmerzbank added 0.6 percent to €32.05 on a report of record net profits and the announcement that it will raise its dividend by 50 percent. The German bank will also invest in its retail banking division.

In the oil sector, Total added 1.4 percent to €53.25. It raised its dividend by 15 percent after reporting that earnings were up 5 percent in 2006 to a record net €12.6 billion.

ThyssenKrupp added 6.6 percent to €38.79 on an upgraded target share price from Deutsche Bank. While raising the steel maker’s target from €41 to €43, the bank also repeated its “buy” recommendation. The upgrade also helped Arcelor-Mittal, up 2.8 percent to €37.31.

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The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was lower in Monday, closing at 1533.15, a decline of 0.6 percent.

The Greek banking sector saw declines after a new report showed that use of household credit grew substantially in November, causing some investors to worry that with Eurozone interest rates rising loan defaults could reach worrisome levels. Alpha Bank dropped 1.2 percent to €24.02, while National Bank of Greece fell 1.3 percent to €38.60. EFG Eurobank was 2 percent lower to €29.10 and Bank of Piraeus was down 2.2 percent to €26.40.

Stock exchanges were lower after it was announced that stockholders in the London Stock Exchange had rejected US exchange operator Nasdaq’s bid for the company. Deutsche Borse dropped 2.2 percent to €157.45. Euronext, still in the process of closing a merger with NYSE Group, fell 4.2 percent to €85.95.

In the oil sector, a decline of 2 percent in the price of crude oil sent shares lower. Statoil was 0.6 percent lower to NKr162.25, hurt not only by lower prices but by a fourth quarter report that did not rise to expected levels. French oil company Total was down 1.2 percent to €52.10. Neste Oil dropped 2.9 percent to €23.70.

The semiconductors sector was mixed. STMicroelectronics dropped 1.4 percent to €14.53, but Infineon added 1.3 percent to €12.15 after last week’s announcement of new contracts and on new reports that private equity could be interested in bidding. Meanwhile, chip-making equipment manufacturer ASML dropped 2.7 percent to €19.16.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.3 percent over the week to close at 1,542.21 on Friday, very close to a six-year high it touched on Tuesday.

The energy sector was mixed as the Endsea saga continued to play out. Endsea recommended that its shareholders vote to accept the €41 billion bid it received from Germany’s Eon after Gas Natural pulled out of the bidding. Endsea dropped 2.6 percent during the week, to €38.01, while Eon added 0.7 percent to €110.05. Gas Natural gained 7.6 percent over the week to €33.20. In related news construction group Acciona, which owns 21 percent of Endsea, was 4.6 percent higher to €162.15. Acciona said that it would sell its shares to Eon if its takeover of Endsea is successful.

The European semiconductors sector was higher after Infineon landed two big contracts. It was revealed Wednesday that it will provide chips for low-cost mobile phones made by Nokia, while it was announced Friday that Infineon will make chips for Mastercard’s new contact-free cards. While no additional details about the deals were revealed, one broker estimated that the Nokia contract will be worth nearly €140 million next year alone. Infineon was up 8.3 percent over the week to €12, while STMicroelectronics gained 3.8 percent to €14.73.

The energy sector saw gains in Europe on Wednesday as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.2 percent on the day’s session, to 1,546.70. Mergers and acquisitions rumors and news drove the gains.

Endsea and Eon were both higher after Endsea said Tuesday that Eon’s bid, worth €41 billion, was “adequate” and recommended it to shareholders, who will meet to vote on the bid in late March. Endsea added 0.4 percent to €38, while Eon was 0.7 percent higher to €111.46. Eon’s domestic rival RWE added 1.2 percent to €84.22 after it said it will not enter a gas and electricity price war with Eon.

Rumors circulated that France’s Electricite de France was going to bid for Iberdrola. While EdF denied the rumors, EdF and Iberdrola each gained 2.9 percent, to €56.60 and €34.97 respectively. Elsewhere in the sector, Gas Natural added 1.8 percent to €32.92 and Union Fenosa was 4.1 percent higher to €41.63.

In the semiconductors sector, Infineon added 10.7 percent to €11.96 after it said it had concluded a deal with Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia to supply chips for its low-cost phones.

Swiss drug maker Roche dropped 2.1 percent to SFr233.50 even though it reported that profits were up 36 percent for the full year. Investors did not seem impressed with the report, which was in line with expectations, nor with the outlook for 2007, which said that Roche expects lower sales during the year for Tamiflu, its flu drug.

The automobile manufacturing sector saw declines on the session. Peugeot fell 0.5 percent to €51.90 on a lower operating margin last year. The decline was not as much as feared, however. BMW was 2.4 percent lower to €45.43 after German insurer Allianz said that it will sell 16.1 million shares in the luxury carmaker.

Banks were higher in Europe on Tuesday after brokers had positive comments and merger news was in focus. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.3 percent to 1,543.04, another new six-year peak.

Besides banks, there were also gains in the medical care sector. Fresenius Medical Care, the German dialysis provider, added 6.2 percent to €110.08, a new record high, after a provision in the 2008 US budget submitted by President George W. Bush was said to seek an extension of the time private insurance has to pay for kidney dialysis before Medicare will pay for the procedure. Not all analysts were sure, however, that the budget provision, which still has to be passed by Congress, was enough to justify such a gain. Fresenius, the parent company of FMC, was also up, gaining 3.9 percent to €56.23.

In the energy sector, Eon added 1.6 percent to €110.70 after Goldman Sachs upped its recommendation to “buy” as it looked more and more as if the German company’s bid for Endsea would be successful. Endsea dropped 0.7 percent to €37.85.

Among banks Millennium BCP added 1.8 percent to €2.88 as it looked less likely that it would take over Banco Portugues de Investimento after a report that the Bank of Portugal had given approval for German insurer Allianz to add to its stake in BPI, raising its holding from 8.8 percent to 19.9 percent. Allianz gained 0.1 percent on the news, while BPI was 1.3 percent higher to €6.35.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up, but just barely, on Monday, adding only 0.04 percent to end the session at 1,538.32. The energy sector was lower on bids news, while the banking sector declined on profit-taking.

Airlines were higher on the session, however. Aer Lingus added 1.8 percent to €2.85 after Ryanair said that it might make a new bid for its rival. This could happen as soon as in May if its previous, lapsed, bid is cleared by competition authorities of the European Commission. Ryanair, meanwhile, gained 6.8 percent to €11.98 on an unexpected report of net profits that were up 30 percent in its fiscal third quarter.

Profit-taking in the banking sector was encouraged by brokers who issued downgrades to both SEB and Credit Suisse. ING dropped its recommendation on Credit Suisse from “buy” to “hold”, sending the Swiss bank 0.7 percent lower to SFr88.10. Swedish Bank SEB dropped 1.9 percent to SKr230.50 on a downgrade from “hold” to “sell” from Deutsche Bank, which said that the benefits of a possible merger with Nordea were already priced in. Nordea held steady at SKr110.

In the energy sector, Endsea was lower after Eon’s Friday bid was lower than Friday’s closing price but higher than its previous offer for the Spanish company. While some Endsea shareholders had hoped for a higher bid, Eon’s bid was high enough according to an analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort. Endsea dropped 2.4 percent to €38.10, while Eon fell 0.4 percent to €108.97. Acciona, the Spanish builder which holds 21 percent of Endsea, added 0.3 percent to €155.45 amid speculation that it could oppose the deal after it said last week that it would sell its stake in Endsea if the bid by Eon is accepted.