Markets in Europe were higher on Wednesday.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.49 percent to 1,583.69.

In Frankfurt the Dax gained 0.29 percent to 7,985.41, while the Paris CAC-40 was up 0.77 percent to 5,818.8 and the IBEX jumped 0.99 percent to 15,430.5 in Madrid.

Food processor Groupe Danone (Euronext: BN; NYSE: DA) was the best performer on the CAC-40, adding 3.58 percent to €56.15 after it said sales were up 7 percent over the past 9 months.

Semiconductors group Infineon (FWB: IFX; NYSE: IFX) had the best day over on the Dax, gaining 2.13 percent to €11.04 after US rival Intel (NAS: INTC; SEHK: 4335) showed strong third-quarter results with profits up 43 percent and earnings coming in at 31 cents per share.

Elsewhere in the sector, STMicroelectronics (Euronext: STM; NYSE: STM) was up 0.8 percent to €11.73.

Meanwhile, chip making equipment manufacturer ASML (Euronext: ASML; NAS: ASMLD) jumped 8.2 percent to €24.35.

The steel sector was mixed.

Mittal Steel (Euronext: MT; NYSE: MT) was 2.3 percent higher to €55.16, but ThyssenKrupp (FWB: TKA; LSE: THK) dropped 0.16 percent to €43.18.

Utilities were also mixed.

Suez (Euronext: SZE; NYSE: SZE) added 1.93 percent to €43.88 and Gaz de France (Euronext: GAZ) was up 2.14 percent to €39.07, but Eon (FWB: EOA; NYSE: EON; LSE: EON) fell 0.27 percent to €131.51.

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 dropped 0.1 percent on the session Wednesday to close at 1,510.37.

A major factor in the 300’s decline was yet another profits warning from EADS, its second in four months. The aerospace giant was 2.8 percent lower to €25.01 after some one-time costs that were expected to be on the books in 2007 were charged in 2006 instead.

In the telecommunications sector, Telefonica dropped 0.9 percent to €16.70 on a downgrade from UBS, which reduced its recommendation from “neutral” to “reduce”. UBS cited profitability concerns due to increased competition for the Spanish telecom in both its fixed-line and mobile units. Still, UBS held its target share price for Telefonica at €15.70.

Not all the news was bad, however. ASML added 8.4 percent to €20.39 after the maker of chip manufacturing equipment said that sales would be up next year. The company also announced plans for a further share buy-back.

Deutsche Post was also higher, gaining 2.4 percent to €23.66 on rumors that private equity group Blackstone is attempting to purchase part of the 30.6 percent share of the company now held by the German state bank.

Bids rumors also helped the airlines sector as the Italian government gets ready to get rid of its 49 percent stake in Alitalia. The rumors centered on Air France-KLM because the head of that airline recently resigned from the Alitalia board, which has lead some analysts to believe that Air France is preparing a bid. Air France was 0.5 percent higher to €34.31, while Alitalia gained 2.6 percent to €1.06.

In Europe on Wednesday the FTSE Eurofirst 300 came within two points of a five and a half year high as it closed up 1.1 percent to 1,487.89.

Technology sectors saw gains on the session. SAP, the software group, was 1.6 percent higher to €40.25. Meanwhile, in the semiconductors sector, ASML gained 2.7 percent to €18.66.

Lufthansa added 1 percent to €20.89 in the wake of an announcement last Friday that it will sell its 50 percent stake in Thomas Cooke. Dresdner Kleinwort called the sale a move “in the right direction”, reiterating its “buy” recommendation on the air carrier and increasing its target share price from €20 to €21.60.

Sacyr Vallehermoso was 2.2 percent higher to €47.02 although JP Morgan began coverage by rating the Spanish builder at “underweight” and setting a target share price of €36, citing concerns about the purchase of a 20 percent stake in oil company Repsol and what it called a “very high” purchase price for road concession operator Europistas.

The Norwegian oil sector was mixed in the aftermath of an announced merger between Statoil and Norsk Hydro. While Norsk Hydro added 1.6 percent to NKr191, Statoil dropped 0.9 percent to NKr162.50 even though S&P reiterated its “strong buy” recommendation.

With an automobile manufacturing sector that fared well early in the week but saw declines later and crude oil prices that fell dramatically at the end of the week, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.1 percent over the week to 1,462.05.

The oil sector was down on both the day Friday and over the week as a whole. The worst performers were Statoil, which fell 4.8 percent on Friday and 3.3 percent during the week to NKr167.75 and Norsk Hydro, with declines of 5 percent on the day and 3.8 percent on the week to NKr152.

Car and truck makers were mixed on the week. Volkswagen was up and Porsche declined on rumors that Porsche is getting ready to bid for VW. Porsche, which already owns 27.4 percent of VW, said it wants to increase its holding to 29.9 percent; if it acquires 30 percent, it will be forced to submit a bid. VW added 3.9 percent to €83.09 during the week, while Porsche was 1.6 percent lower to €900.

VW, with large stakes in both MAN and Scania, is also a major player in the efforts of German truck maker MAN to acquire Swedish rival Scania. VW favors the merger while Investor, Scania’s other major shareholder, and Scania’s unionized workers, are against the merger. With rumors circulating this week that Scania is preparing a counter bid, MAN added 2.9 percent over the week to €73, while Scania’s B shares were 2.6 percent lower to SKr475. Investor ended the week at SKr155.50.

The semiconductors sector was higher on the week on strong quarterly reports and ahead of the release of a new iteration of Microsoft’s Windows. STMicroelectronics was up 3.5 percent to €14.11, while Infineon added 5.2 percent to €9.78 and ASML gained 6.5 percent to €19.30.

Profit-taking sent the European equities markets lower on Tuesday. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.3 percent to 1,462.69 as the telecommunications sector did well but banks saw losses.

The banking sector is still in the midst of mergers and acquisitions activity. In Italy, Banche Popolari Unite fell 2.7 percent to €20.29 and Banca Lombarda dropped 5.9 percent to €16.76 after Lombarda assented to an all-share offer from Unite worth €6.2 billion. The big decline for Lombarda came on ruined hopes of shareholders that there could be a cash bid from a foreign entity. One possible cash bidder mentioned was Santander of Spain, which dropped 0.1 percent on the session to €13.86.

Stock markets were lower, also on bids rumors. Deutsche Borse was 1.8 percent lower to €131 and Euronext dropped 3.8 percent to €89.80 on a report that Deutsche Borse could abandon its bid for Euronext. Deutsche Borse denied the report and said that its offer was still on the table.

In the telecommunications sector, Telefonica was up 1.2 percent to €15.60 after it said that operating revenues were up 43 percent in the first nine months of the year and upped its prediction for profits for the full year. Telekom Austria and Telenor each added 2.2 percent, to €19.83 and NKr105.25. The Austrian telecommunications operator reported that third quarter core profits were up 1 percent on growth in its international units and said that profit growth for the year will be at 30 percent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 ended the week at 1,445.39 on Friday, adding 0.3 percent for the session and brining its gains since the beginning of the year to 13 percent. The day’s close was its highest since early June 2001.

Several sectors saw gains over the week. The forestry and paper sector did very well. UPM Kymmene was 6 percent higher to €19.9, while Stora Enso added 8.2 percent to €12.73 and M-Real of Finland gained 17.2 percent to €4.83 on the introduction of a restructuring plan.

Safran, the French manufacturer of jet engines, added 7.3 percent over the week to €16.84 on rumors of a merger with defense company Thales.

Spanish property group Metrovacesa was the big gainer of the week as it was up 18.4 percent to €125.1. It is now 70.2 percent higher than it was at the beginning of September on the strength of bids rumors.

Among losers this week, Nokia dropped 4.2 percent to €15.4 on disappointing quarterly results and lower prices for its phones. Software maker SAP fell 4.9 percent to €156.85, also on its quarterly report. In the semiconductors sector, ASML was 6.9 percent lower to €17.9, while Akzo Nobel was down 10.5 percent on its quarterly report and on the delay of its new anti-schizophrenia drug.

After seeing losses on Tuesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 100 added 0.9 percent on Wednesday to 1,441.48 on several bits of positive news.

Automobile manufacturer Fiat was 5.7 percent higher to €13.53 on rumors that it wants to sell its truck making division. It didn’t hurt that JPMorgan issued positive comments, saying that Fiat stands to double operating profits in the third quarter.

French jet engine manufacturer Safran also gained 5.7 percent, to €16.87, on rumors that there is a merger in the works between it and defense electronics company Thales. Thales added 1.7 percent to €36.58 on the speculation.

The forestry and paper sector saw gains when M-Real of Finland announced a major restructuring, saying that it will cut costs and cut capacity. It also announced the appointment of a new chief executive. M-Real added 14.9 on the news to €4.78. Among others in the sector, UPM Kymmene was 3.8 percent higher to €19.50, while Stora Enso advanced 5.3 percent to €12.61.

ASML, which makes semiconductor manufacturing equipment, dropped 6.6 percent to €17.75 as not all analysts were enthusiastic about its third-quarter report. ABN Amro dropped its recommendation from “hold” to “sell”, while Dresdner Kleinwort reaffirmed its “sell” recommendation. Both cited slowing orders as the cause for their disappointment. Deutsche Bank, however, reiterated its “buy” rating on ASML.

Dutch pharmaceuticals group Akzo Nobel also saw declines, falling 8.9 percent to €43.35 after it said it would delay the release of asenapine, it’s new anti-schizophrenia drug and released third-quarter results that were not up to analyst predictions.

Rumors of mergers in Europe’s aerospace and defense sector sent European equities higher on Tuesday even though the oil sector declined as crude oil prices continued to drop. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 ended the session at 1,367.4. 0.2 percent lower.

Defense electronics company Thales and airplane engine manufacturer Safran were both said to be interested in bidding for French aeronautical supply company Zodiac. While Zodiac denied the rumors, all three companies saw gains on the session. Thales added 2.8 percent to €33.67, while Safran gained 4.5 percent to €16.79 and Zodiac was 6.8 percent higher to €47.69. In addition Alcatel, owner of 10 percent of Thales, was up 1.2 percent to €9.61.

Among oil companies, Cepsa dropped 2.1 percent to €55.50, Statoil declined by 3.2 percent to NKr168.50 and OMV was 3.7 percent lower to €41.25.

The semiconductors sector was helped by a prediction from Japanese company Elpida Memory that its sales could double this year. Infineon was 1.6 percent higher to €9.17 and ASML added 1.9 percent to €16.78. A reconfirmation of Merrill Lynch’s “buy” recommendation sent STMicroelectronics up 2.1 percent to €12.96.

In the transport sector, Danish container shipper Moller-Maersk added 3.1 percent to DKr46,900 as it said that its net profits in the first half dropped less than they had been expected to decline.

Drugmaker Bayer was down 0.7 percent to €39.26 even though its second quarter core earlings were up 14.1 percent, more than had been forecast. Elsewhere in the pharmaceuticals sector, Roche added 0.5 percent to SFr226.80 and Novartis was 0.6 percent higher to SFr70.50, both helped by the approval in Switzerland of Lucentis, a blindness treatment.

Indications from the United States of a slowing economy there affected European markets, sending the FTSE Eurofirst 300 0.6 percent lower to 1,353.26 on Wednesday.

Further news from the US in the form of a revenues warning from National Semiconductor, send the European semiconductors sector lower. ASML and Infineon each dropped 1.1 percent to €16.41 and €8.66 respectively. STMicroelectronics fell by 1.5 percent to €12.44.

In telecommunications related sectors, equipment makers were lower, as were most telecoms operators. The exception was Telekom Austria, which added 2.5 percent to €18.97. Deutsche Telekom dropped 0.6 percent to €11.50 after HSBC reaffirmed its “underweight” recommendation and dropped its target share price to €10.20, while France Telecom was 1 percent lower to €16.42. Among equipment makers, Nokia was down 2 percent to €16.45, while Ericsson dropped 2.2 percent to SKr22.70.

EADS fell 2.2 percent to €22.05 after rumors that the aerospace company was running behind by at least two years on the development of its Airbus A400M military transport. Recently, EADS was hurt by reports of delays on its A380 superjumbo passenger jet.

Among gainers on the day was Nestle, which added 2.3 percent to SFr417.75 after going as high as SFr419.50 during the day, a record high, after it reported better than expected first half results.