The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.3 percent lower on Thursday, closing at 1,499.03 on declines in the oil and steel sectors. The decline came even though the telecommunications and airlines sectors were up on the session.

Among telecoms, fixed-line carriers added 1.7 percent. France Telecom added 1.4 percent to €21.68, while KPN gained 3.2 percent to €11.26 and Hellenic Telecom was 3.5 percent higher to €24. Meanwhile, mobile carrier Cosmote added 3.3 percent to €22.98.

Airlines were helped by declines in crude oil prices as investors hoped that fuel prices would also go down. Air France-KLM added 1.2 percent to €33.12. Lufthansa was helped when Dresdner Kleinwort raised its target share price from €21.60 to €26 and repeated its “buy” recommendation on the air carrier. The positive comments came after Lufthansa sold its 50 percent stake in Thomas Cook, the travel agency. Lufthansa was 2.1 percent higher to €21.96. Ryanair gained 3.6 percent to €10.80 after it said that while its aircraft were slightly less full on average last year, it carried 19 percent more passengers.

In the oil sector, Total dropped 2 percent to €53.45, while Neste Oil fell 3 percent to €22.04 and Statoil was 3.7 percent lower to NKr157.25.

Steelmakers continued to suffer from a sector downgrade issued by Credit Suisse on Wednesday. Mittal Steel dropped 2.8 percent to €30.65, ThyssenKrupp was 3.4 percent lower to €34.73, and Vallourec fell 4.7 percent to €208.40.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.4 percent to 1,449.34 on Wednesday to finally end the session with an advance after four consecutive days of losses.

Banks were mixed on the session. After early losses following the release of its third-quarter report, Deutsche Bank came back to close just 0.1 percent lower to €98.55 after going as low as €97.55 earlier in the day. The report showed that while net profits were about where they had been forecast to be, trading income was significantly lower. Elsewhere in the sector, UBS added 0.9 percent to SFr74.95 after its 5 percent decline on Tuesday.

The telecommunications sector was also mixed. Swedish telecom operator Tele2 added 12.8 percent to SKr85.75 on third-quarter earnings that were higher than had been anticipated and on an announcement that it will withdraw from some European markets and turn its attention from fixed-line operations to broadband. Greek telecom Cosmote also saw gains, adding 2.6 percent to €19.80 on an upgrade from Bear Stearns. On the other hand, Deutsche Telekom dropped 0.2 percent to €13.53 after early gains. Rumors circulated that Russian group Sistema was looking to acquire a stake in DT in trade for control of its telecoms operations.

Continental fell 0.7 percent to €87 on a third quarter report that showed earnings down almost 1 percent before interest and tax. Still, Dresdner Kleinwort reiterated its “buy” recommendation and target share price of €105 on the tire maker.

Despite gains in the telecommunications sector, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was lower on Thursday, dropping 0.2 percent to 1,452.33.

Telefonica added 1.6 percent to €14.85, while Deutsche Telekom gained 2.1 percent to €13.22 and Cosmote of Greece was 2.6 percent higher to €18.98. France Telecom was up 3.6 percent to €20.10 on a gain of 3.5 percent in underlying profits thanks to income from foreign purchases. FT was also helped by positive comments from Bear Stearns. Norwegian telecom Telenor added 7 percent to NKr96.60 on its third-quarter earnings report, which was better than had been anticipated and elicited glowing remarks from both Citigroup and Bear Stearns.

ThyssenKrupp added 2.8 percent to €30.82 on rumors that US steel maker Nucor could be ready to make a bid for the German company.

The pharmaceuticals sector was also lower, with Sanofi-Aventis dropping 0.6 percent to €69.70 on the news from Bristol-Myers Squibb reported earnings down in the third quarter. Sales of the blood-thinner Plavix, which Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb partner in, were hurt by generic drugs that serve the same purpose. Also not helping the sector was the 7 percent decline on the day by AstraZeneca in the UK after the failure of trials for an experimental stroke drug.

Tiremakers were mixed on the session, with Michelin up 0.6 percent to €63.45 on positive comments from Deutsche Bank. Meanwhile, Continental dropped 3.9 percent to €88.50 on a reduction of its earnings-per-share estimate from Morgan Stanley.

In Europe on Tuesday the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.2 percent to 1,347.58, with the telecommunications and pharmaceuticals sectors helping out substantially. Utilities were also up.

Spanish utility Endsea released its first-quarter report, showing core profits that were up 31 percent. Growth in Europe and Latin America was credited with the improvement, sending shares in Endsea up 1 percent on the day to €26.55. Gas Natural and Eon, both interested in acquiring Endsea, were up 0.3 percent to €213.96 and 0.4 percent to €89.95 respectively.

Among pharmaceuticals companies, Sanofi-Aventis added 2.8 percent to €75.70. Roche and Novartis were each up by 2.2 percent, with Roche at SFr214.60 and Novartis at SFr69.50. The gains for Novartis came on news that tests in the United States have shown that its drug Exelon is helpful in treating dementia related to Parkinson’s disease.

It was the second day in a row for gains in the telecommunications sector. Hellenic Telecom was the biggest gain in the sector, adding 3.5 percent to €18.60. It is expected to bid for the shares of Mobi63 owned by the government of Serbia when those shares are auctioned in July. Deutsche Telekom, also likely to bid on the shares, was up 0.5 percent to €13.05. Elsewhere in fixed-line telecoms, Swisscom was up 1.3 percent to SFr405, while France Telecom rose by 1.5 percent to €17.49 on an upwardly revised revenue forecast from Bear Stearns.

Mobile telecoms also saw gains. Telnor gained 2.9 percent to NKr80.75, while Cosmote added 2.6 percent to €19.68.

In the oil sector, OMV of Austria dropped 5.7 percent to €45.13 despite a 24 percent rise in first-quarter profits when lower refining margins kept profits below levels that had been predicted.

In Europe on Tuesday the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.4 percent to 1,405.55 as the telecommunications and automobile manufacturing sectors saw advances on the day.

Volkswagen added 4.3 percent to €61.24 after it announced that the number of cars it sold in the first four months of the year was up by 14.5 percent. It also said that restructuring is still a top priority. Renault was up 3.2 percent to €96.35, while Porsche gained 2.1 percent to €824 on a reiteration of its “outperform” rating from Credit Suisse. Peugeot was up 2 percent to €53.15.

KPN, the Dutch telecoms group, added 3.1 percent to €9.62 on a report that its core profit was up 10 percent in the first quarter, higher than expected, as its mobile unit more than compensated for weakness in its fixed-line business. This report earned a reiteration of its “outperform” rating from Bear Stearns. Other telecommunications companies that saw advances on the day included Telnor, which added 0.9 percent to NKr83.25, and Telecom Italia, up 2.1 percent to €2.322.

Not all telecoms saw gains on the day, however. The Greek Cosmote, OTE’s mobile unit, dropped 2.4 percent to €19.10 on the news that it has purchased 42 percent of Germanos. Meanwhile, Hellenic Telecommunications (OTE) dropped 1.1 percent to €18.98. Germanos gained 3.2 percent to €18.6 on the news.