European markets were mixed Thursday, with more losers than gainers.
The gainer was Madrid’s IBEX, which added 0.5 percent to 15,507.1.
Elsewhere, the pan-European FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.78 percent to 1,572.92 while in Frankfurt, the Dax dropped 0.8 percent to 7,921.4 and the Paris CAC-40 fell 0.89 percent to 5,767.24.
Truck maker Man (FWB: EDF1) was 2.31 percent higher to €121.75, for the best performance on the Dax, on reports that Swedish rival Scania (OMX: SCV B) could offer a bid soon.
Volkswagen (FWB: VOW; OTC: VLKAY), which owns stakes in both Man and Scania, was up 0.86 percent to €175.53.
Elsewhere in the sector, Peugeot (Euronext: UG; OTC: PEUGY) added 0.68 percent to €58.02.
Over on the CAC-40 the best performance came from Lagardere (Euronext: MMB), with interest in both media and the defense sector.
Lagardere added 2.22 percent to €59.05 on rumors that it could delist its shares.
The biggest loser on the Dax was software group SAP (FWB: SAP), which dropped 3.31 percent to €38.23 despite a third-quarter report that profits were up by 10 percent, not as much as had been anticipated.
Construction-related shares were mixed.
Builder Vinci (Euronext: DG) was slightly higher, adding 0.08 percent to €52.50.
On the other hand Bouygues (Euronext: EN), with interests in both construction and media, dropped 2.11 percent to €63.11.
Meanwhile, construction materials group Lafarge (Euronext: LG; NYSE: LR) fell 1.39 percent to €115.52.