European markets were mostly lower Tuesday, with the notable exception of Madrid’s IBEX, which added 0.29 percent to 15,153.8.

In Paris, the CAC-40 dropped 0.43 percent to 6,099.21, while the Dax was 0.83 percent lower in Frankfurt to close at 8,038.21.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.49 percent to 1,622.34.

Vallourec (Euronext: VK) was the best performer on the CAC-40, adding 0.92 percent to €220.75 on rumors that Arcelor Mittal (Euronext: MT; NSYE: MT) might be interested in making a bid.

Other gainers on the day included foods group Groupe Danone (Euronext: BN; NYSE: DA), which was 0.56 percent higher to €57.08.

In the pharmaceuticals sector Schering (FWB: SCH) gained 0.34 percent to €104.60.

Chemicals group BASF (FWB: BAS; LSE: BFA; NYSE: BF) was up 0.23 percent to €99.46.

Utilities were mixed, with EDF (Euronext: EEN) 0.27 percent higher to €78.95, while Suez (Euronext: SZE; NYSE: SZE) dropped 1.11 percent to €41.16.

Banks were also mixed on the session.

In Paris Credit Agricole (Euronext: ACA) added 0.2 percent to €30.11 and Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) was 0.75 percent higher to €139.79, but in Frankfurt Commerzbank (FWB: CBK) fell 1.41 percent to €34.94.

Carmakers saw losses on the day.

Renault (Euronext: RNO) dropped 1.21 percent to €115.74 for the worst performance of the session in Paris, while BMW (FWB: BMW) fell 1.45 to €39.90 in Frankfurt.

BMW declined even though Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) raised the carmaker’s target share price.

In addition, truck maker Man (FWB: EDF1) was 1.49 percent lower to €110.10.

Other losers on the session included oil company Total (Euronext: FP; NYSE: TOT), which was down 1.09 percent to €61.62 on a broker downgrade from “buy” to “hold”.

Media group Lagardere (Euronext: MMB) fell 1.2 percent to €62.60.

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.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 1.6 percent this week to close at 1,537.65 as earnings reports continued to be issued and mergers news was in focus.

The energy sector reacted to Gas Natural’s withdrawal from the bidding for Endsea, leaving Eon with the only offer on the table for the Spanish energy company. Gas Natural dropped 0.9 percent on the week to €30.85 while Eon, which was due to deliver its sealed bid to the Spanish stock market regulator on Friday, added 10.9 percent to €109.43. Endsea was 0.9 percent higher to €39.04 and Acciona, the Spanish builder which owns a 21 percent stake in Endsea gained 1 percent to €155.

The steel sector was also affected by bids news. Corus added 7.9 percent to €9.13 as it was revealed that Tata Steel had won the bidding for the Anglo-Dutch steel maker. Hopes that there would be further consolidation in the sector sent ThyssenKrupp and Arcelor Mittal 3.8 percent higher each, to €36.54 and €36.43 respectively.

Truck manufacturers were higher during the week as well. Volvo added 3.2 percent to SKr513 even after it failed to meet projections for the fourth quarter when it upped its outlook and announced an extraordinary pay-out. Scania was 9 percent higher to SKr510.

Airlines were mostly up this week, the exception being Alitalia, which dropped 0.2 percent to €1.07 in a week when it received from two private equity groups but Air France-KLM said it was not interested in making a bid. Lufthansa added 3.5 percent to €21.90 on an upgrade from UBS, while Iberia gained 6.3 percent to €3.19. Air France, which also received a UBS upgrade, was 10.6 percent higher to €35.59.

Mergers and acquisitions news continued to drive the European equities markets on Thursday as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 saw its highest closing level since mid-2001 and indices in Spain and Switzerland hit all-time highs. The Eurofirst added 0.6 percent to 1,410.11.

MAN was down again, dropping 3.6 percent to €66 as the fallout of Volkswagen’s purchase of 15 percent of the German truckmaker’s shares Wednesday continued. Analyst opinion is that VW made the purchase to protect its own truck unit and its investment in Scania, in which it is the largest shareholder. MAN made a bid for Scania last month. Scania’s B shares added 0.8 percent on the session to SKr465.50, while VW gained 1.2 percent to €69.65.

Low-cost air carrier Ryanair dropped 0.8 percent to €8.63 after it said it has purchased 16 percent of Aer Lingus and intends to bid for the remaining shares in the Irish airline. With Aer Lingus saying that they reject the bid and analysts saying that there is not much chance of the bid effort succeeding Aer Lingus, which only began trading publicly on Monday, added 15.5 percent to €2.90.

The steel sector saw advances on the day after Tata Steel of India said it was considering a bid for Corus. This follows Mittal Steel’s acquisition of Arcelor earlier in the year. Corus added 15.8 percent to €7.03 on the talk, and other steel makers gained on the possibility of further consolidation within the sector. Arcelor Mittal gained 3 percent to €27.70, while Salzgitter advanced 3.2 percent to €77.82 and ThyssenKrupp was 3.6 percent higher to €27.18.