European markets lost substantial ground Friday, with the FTSE Eurofirst 300 down 2.86 percent to 1,482.14.

The Dax dropped 1.48 percent to 7,343.26 in Frankfurt, while the Paris CAC-40 fell 3.13 percent to 5,448.63 and had no gainers on the day.

In Madrid the IBEX was 2.59 percent lower to 14,453.9.

The financial services sector saw declines after the European Central Bank added to Thursday’s injection of €94.8 billion in extra cash into the financial system with another contribution of €61 billion, with indications that it could add more cash to the system over the weekend.

Deutsche Bank (FWB: DBK; NYSE: DB) dropped 3.46 percent to €95.18, while BNP Paribas (Euronext: BNP; TYO: 8665) was 4.36 percent lower to €78.97 and Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) fell 5 percent to €122.20.

The steel sector was mixed.

While ThyssenKrupp (FWB: TKA; LSE: THK) was 0.37 percent higher to €38.10 in Frankfurt, Mittal Steel (Euronext: MT; NYSE: MT) dropped 5.42 percent to €41.92 on fears that the troubled economy could lead to declines in demand.

Airlines were also down on the session as Lufthansa (FWB: LHA) dropped 3.78 percent to €19.11 and Air France (Euronext: AF; NYSE: AKH) fell 5.43 percent to €28.56.

The car and truck manufacturing sector was mixed on the session as well, with Volkswagen (FWB: VOW; OTC: VLKAY) leading the Dax for the second day in a row as it added 1.79 percent to €143.87.

On the other hand, Renault (Euronext: RNO) fell 3.84 percent to €95.13, while truck maker Man (FWB: EDF1) was the biggest loser on the Dax with a decline of 4.2 percent to €94.87.

Power generator Alstom (Euronext: ALO) was the worst performer on the CAC-40 as it dropped 7.31 percent to €124.10.

The semiconductors sector was lower, as well. Infineon (FWB: IFX; NYSE: IFX) fell 4.1 percent to €10.75, while STMicroelectronics (Euronext: STM; NSYE: STM) was 4.2 percent lower to €12.56.

Most European markets were higher on Monday.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.58 percent higher to 1,609.07.

In Madrid, the IBEX added 0.85 percent to 15,056.7, while the CAC-40 gained 0.87 percent to 6,009.16 in Paris and the Dax was 0.88 percent higher to 7,944.21 in Frankfurt.

Carmakers saw gains, with DaimlerChrysler (FWB: DCX; NYSE: DCX; TYO: 7663) up 2.73 percent to €66.82 ahead of its second quarter report.

Peugeot (Euronext: UG; OTC: PEUGY) added 1.78 percent to €65.10 after a broker raised its target share price.

On the other hand, truck manufacturer Man (FWB: EDF1) dropped 0.31 percent to €107.20.

In a related sector, tire maker Michelin (Euronext: ML) had the best day on the CAC-40 as it gained 2.75 percent to €104.73.

Meanwhile, the best performer on the Dax was software group SAP (FWB: SAP; NYSE: SAP), which was 2.85 percent higher to €41.07 on rumors that it could be a target of private equity.

In energy-related sectors, utility Suez (Euronext: SZE; NYSE: SZE) was up 1.42 percent to €41.40, while power generator Alstom (Euronext: ALO) gained 1.52 percent to €136.59.

In the oil sector, Total (Euronext: FP; NSYE: TOT) added 1.82 percent to €60.55.

The worst performances of the day came from Infineon (FWB: IFX; NYSE: IFX), which was 0.62 percent lower in Frankfurt to €12.87, and property company Unibail (Euronext: UL), which dropped 1.75 percent to €184.86 in Paris.

Other decliners included chemical group Altana (FWB: ALT; NYSE: AAA), which was 0.34 percent lower to €17.61.

IT services group Cap Gemini (Euronext: CAP) fell 0.55 percent to €55.64, while in the retail sector Carrefour (Euronext: CA) was down 0.19 percent to €53.26.

Equities markets saw significant gains on Thursday after two days of wide declines.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 1.19 percent to 1,620.18. The IBEX gained 1.19 percent to 14,941.8 in Madrid, while the Paris CAC-40 was 1.7 percent higher to 6,103.05 and the Dax was up 1.96 percent to 8,053.43.

The engineering sector did very well on the day, with the best performance on both the Dax and in Paris.

In Frankfurt, Siemens (FWB: SIE; NYSE: SI) gained 3.87 percent to €110.82, while in Paris engineering and power generation group Alstom (Euronext: ALO) was 8.45 percent higher to €135.60.

Builders and those that furnish materials to them were higher in Paris.

Construction group Vinci (Euronext: EG) added 4 percent to €57.70, while cement and construction materials provider Lafarge (Euronext: LG) gained 2.1 percent to €134.54.

Other gainers included stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse (FWB: DB1), which was 3.84 percent higher to ¥89.75 and chipmaker Infineon (FWB: IFX; NYSE: IFX) with a gain of 3.63 percent to €13.41.

In the oil sector, Total (Euronext: FP; NYSE: TOT) added 3.02 percent to €62.38.

The biggest loser on the CAC-40 was hotels operator Accor (Euronext: AC), which dropped 1.48 percent to ¥71.88.

On the Dax, the only decliner of the session was financial services group Marschollek (FWB: MLPG), which fell 0.2 percent to €15.22.

Equities markets declined for a second straight day in Europe on Wednesday, but losses were not as steep as they were on Tuesday.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.28 percent lower to 1,602.41. In Paris the CAC-40 fell 0.3 percent to 6,001.09, while the IBEX was down 0.39 percent to 14,766.2 in Madrid.

Meanwhile, the Dax was 0.83 percent lower to 7,898.54 in Frankfurt.

There was, in fact, only one gainer on the session on the Dax as pharmaceuticals and chemicals group Bayer (FWB: BAY; NYSE: BAY; TYO: 4863) added 1.43 percent to €55.39.

The best day in Paris came for hotels operator Accor (Euronext: AC), which gained 5.27 percent to €72.96 on rumors that it could be a bids target.

In the retail sector, Carrefour (Euronext: CA) was 0.9 percent higher to €53.89 after it reported strong sales.

Carmakers were lower on the day, hurt by the strength of the euro.

BMW (FWB: BMW) had the biggest loss of the day on the Dax as it dropped 1.61 percent to €39.73, while DaimlerChyrsler (FWB: DCX; NYSE: DCX; TYO: 7663) fell 1.55 percent to €67.45.

Truck maker Man (FWB: EDF1) was 1.44 percent lower to €110.28.

Banks were lower in Paris, with BNP Paribas (Euronext: BNP; TYO: 8665) down 0.91 percent to €85.80.

Elsewhere in the sector, Credit Agricole (Euronext: ACA) dropped 0.92 percent to €29.11 and Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) was 0.95 percent lower to €133.73.

The worst performer on the day in Paris was power generator Alstom (Euronext: ALO), which fell 1.87 percent to €125.03.

In Europe, equities markets were lower on Thursday on interest rate concerns.

While the European Central Bank held interest rates at 4 percent, as had been expected, investors are worried that rates could go up again soon.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.61 percent to 1,610.24. The IBEX was 0.55 percent lower in Madrid to close at 14,907.4, while the Paris CAC-40 fell 0.63 percent to 6,059.53 and the Dax was down 1.09 percent to 7,987.13 in Frankfurt.

There were only four gainers in Paris on the session, with retailer Carrefour (Euronext: CA) having the best day with a gain of 2.81 percent to €54.23.

Others seeing gains included aerospace group EADS (Euronext: EAD; FWB: EAD) up 0.21 percent to €24.10.

Drug maker Sanofi-Aventis (Euronext: SAN; NYSE: SNY) gained 0.44 percent to €61.44, while power generator Alstom (Euronext: ALO) added 0.89 percent to €128.03.

In Frankfurt, financial planner MLP (FWB: MLP) performed best on the session as it added 0.52 percent to €15.44, while retailer Metro (FWB: MEO) gained 0.41 percent to €62.01.

The biggest losers on the day in both Pairs and Frankfurt were in the utilities sector.

In Frankfurt, Eon (FWB: EOA; LSE: EON; NYSE: EON) dropped 2.38 percent to €121.51, while EDF (Euronext: EEN) was 3.7 percent lower in Paris, to €77.52.

Insurers had a tough day of it as well. AXA (Euronext: CS; NYSE: AXA) was 1.23 percent lower to €32.12, while Allianz (FWB: ALV; NYSE: AZ) dropped 1.76 percent to €171.21.

Weakness in the technology sector send the FTSE Eurofirst 300 0.9 percent lower on Tuesday, to close at 1,309.06. There were serious investor concerns as fears surfaced that quarterly reports could be disappointing.

French engineering group Alstom reported first-quarter sales figures that did not satisfy, while it warned that an increase in orders during the quarter will not be likely to be sustained all year. Shares in Alstom lost 3.5 percent to €66.95.

Among tech companies, Alcatel dropped 5.9 percent to €9.20 despite saying that preliminary quarterly numbers are about where they were expected to be and that its merger with Lucent Technologies would be closed by the end of the year. While Citigroup retained its “buy” recommendation for Alcatel, Dresdner Kleinwort retained a “sell” recommendation and a target share price of €8.60. Elsewhere, Nokia fell 2 percent to €15.14 and Ericsson declined by 3.4 percent to SKr22.60.

Phillips Electronics was down 3.8 percent to €23.06 ahead of its quarterly report, due next Monday.

ASML declined by 2 percent to €15.13 as the semiconductor sector saw losses. STMicroelectronics dropped 2.4 percent to €11.91, while Infineon was down by 2.8 percent to €8.73.

Among gainers on the day, drugmaker Roche ended the session 0.2 percent higher to SFr207.60, and went as high as SFr211, as UBS increased its target share price from SFr230 to SFr270, citing its potential for expansion.

Automobile manufacturer Fiat added 1.7 percent to €10.85 as Goldman Sachs issued a “buy” rating as it resumed coverage of the carmaker.