In Europe on Tuesday the FTSE Eurofirst 300 hit another four and a half year high to close 0.1 percent higher to 1,373.56.
The gain came even though shares in the oil sector were down as crude oil prices dropped early in the day. Total and Eni dropped 1 percent each, to €210.90 and €23.21 respectively. Statoil declined by 2 percent to NKr171.50.
Stock exchange operators were down as well as bid rumors began to subside. German exchange Deutsche Borse was down 2.4 percent on the day to €114.43, while Euronext dropped by 1.3 percent to €61.55.
The banking sector was mixed on the day. ABN Amro was up on reports that BBVA was thinking of bidding for the Dutch bank, gaining 2.7 percent to €25.68 after going as high as €25.78 earlier in the day. BBVA, however, dropped 0.8 percent to €17.
Banco Santander Central Hispano declined by 0.1 percent to €12.07 on talk that it might be looking for more foreign purchases after recently buying a UK mortgage lender. Smaller Spanish banks were up, however, with Banco Popular gaining 4.3 percent to €12.52 and Bankinter adding 0.5 percent to €57.10.
Icelandic banks were down on the day after Danske Bank issued a prediction that the economy there is poised to enter a recession. Kaupthing dropped 3.9 percent to IKr878, while Landsbanki declined by 4.3 percent to IKr26.50 and Glitnir fell 4.2 percent to IKr18.20.