European markets were higher on Tuesday after Monday’s declines.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 1.54 percent to 1,509.

The Dax was up 1.27 percent to 7,575.21 in Frankfurt, while the Paris CAC-40 gained 2.02 percent to 5,549.35 and Madrid’s IBEX was 2.52 percent higher to 14,042.

The best performance on the CAC-40 was construction group Vinci (Euronext: DG), with a gain of 4.53 percent to €50.54.

Spain’s construction sector did even better.

Sacyr Vallehermoso (IBEX-35: VAL) was up 4.9 percent to €24.09, while Actividades de Construccion y Servicios (IBEX-35: ACS) added 5.7 percent to €34.81 after a broker upgrade from “accumulate” to “buy”.

In a related sector, construction materials group Lafarge (Euronext: LG; NYSE: LR) was 3.4 percent higher to €108.33.

The steel sector saw gains.

Mittal Steel (Euronext: MT; NYSE: MT) gained 2.96 percent to €49.36, while ThyssenKrupp (FWB: TKA; LSE: THK) was up 3.62 percent to €41.46 for the best performance on the Dax.

Banks made gains.

Deutsche Bank (FWB: DBK; NYSE: DB) added 2.47 percent to €90.36, while BNP Paribas (Euronext: BNP; TYO: 8665) was 3.11 percent higher to €74.19 and Credit Agricole (Euronext: ACA) gained 3.25 percent to €27.31.

Motor vehicle manufacturers were mixed on the Dax.

Truck maker Man (FWB: EDF1) was up 3.44 percent to €103.55, but BMW (FWB: BMW) dropped 0.38 percent to €34.41.

Utilities were slightly lower on the session.

EDF (Euronext: EEN) fell 0.12 percent to €74.05, while Eon (FWB: EOA; NYSE: EON; LSE: EON) was down 0.73 percent to €125.97.

IT services group Cap Gemini (Euronext: CAP) had the worst day on the CAC-40 as it dropped 1.57 percent to €40.20, while financial planners MLP (FWB: MLP) was the worst performer on the Dax with a decline of 1.27 percent to €10.12.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 1.9 percent during the week to close at 1,396.45 on Friday, driven largely by activity among Spanish stocks. The activity made Spain’s IBEX-35 index the top performer in Europe over the week with a 4.4 percent gain to 12,934.7. The IBEX was as high as 13,001.6 at one point on Friday.

In the utilities sector, Endsea added 14.4 percent over the week to close at €33.55 on the news that Acciona had purchased a 10 percent stake in the utility and was thinking of buying more. This move was seen as a potential deal-breaker for the proposed Endsea/Eon merger. Eon, the German utility, reacted by raising its bid by 38 percent, but that sent it to a loss of 2.7 percent on the week to €93.48 as investors feared a bidding war. Acciona, on the other hand, was 5.9 percent higher on the week to €120.

Meanwhile, Iberdrola added 9.4 percent over the week to €35.30 after construction group ACS said that it had become the largest shareholder in the power generator with a 10 percent stake. Dresdner Kleinwort said that the purchase by ACS could protect Iberdrola from foreign takeover attempts. It was also seen as a step toward a merger between Iberdrola and Union Fenosa. The activity sent Union Fenosa 0.3 percent higher to €40.28, while ACS added 2.9 percent to €37.40.

Also in Spain, this time in the construction sector, Sacyr Vallehermoso gained 13 percent during the week to €35.85, largely on speculation that it would be a bids target. The rumors had ACS as a possible bidder, but most analysts dismissed the talk.