The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down by over 1 percent to 1,466.97 on Tuesday. The banking sector was instrumental in the declines as worries about the US subprime mortgage sector continued in abundance, despite analyst opinion that it would not turn out to have that much effect in the European sector.

Among investment banks, UBS (SWX: UBSN; NYSE: UBS; TYO: 8657) dropped 1.1 percent to €70.20, while Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) and Credit Suisse (SWX: CSGN; NYSE: CS) each fell 1.9 percent, to €96.46 and €85.75 respectively. Commerzbank (DAX: CBK) was 2.9 percent lower, not only on the general sentiment in the sector, but also due to a statement from Citigroup (NYSE: C) that it is not interested in bidding on the German bank.

In the chemicals sector, Akzo Nobel (Eurofirst: AKZ; NAS: AKZOY) added 0.8 percent to €54.11, still buoyed by news of the sale of its Organon drugs unit to US company Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP). ING (Euronext: INGA; NYSE: ING) upgraded Akzo from “hold” to “buy” and upped its target share price to €64, citing a sale price for the company that was €3 billion dollars than market estimates.

Altadis (IBEX-35: ALT) added 1 percent to €38.20 even though it denied that UK tobacco company Imperial Tobacco (LSE: IMT) was looking for a friendly merger in order to stop an approach by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up, but just barely, on Monday, adding only 0.04 percent to end the session at 1,538.32. The energy sector was lower on bids news, while the banking sector declined on profit-taking.

Airlines were higher on the session, however. Aer Lingus added 1.8 percent to €2.85 after Ryanair said that it might make a new bid for its rival. This could happen as soon as in May if its previous, lapsed, bid is cleared by competition authorities of the European Commission. Ryanair, meanwhile, gained 6.8 percent to €11.98 on an unexpected report of net profits that were up 30 percent in its fiscal third quarter.

Profit-taking in the banking sector was encouraged by brokers who issued downgrades to both SEB and Credit Suisse. ING dropped its recommendation on Credit Suisse from “buy” to “hold”, sending the Swiss bank 0.7 percent lower to SFr88.10. Swedish Bank SEB dropped 1.9 percent to SKr230.50 on a downgrade from “hold” to “sell” from Deutsche Bank, which said that the benefits of a possible merger with Nordea were already priced in. Nordea held steady at SKr110.

In the energy sector, Endsea was lower after Eon’s Friday bid was lower than Friday’s closing price but higher than its previous offer for the Spanish company. While some Endsea shareholders had hoped for a higher bid, Eon’s bid was high enough according to an analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort. Endsea dropped 2.4 percent to €38.10, while Eon fell 0.4 percent to €108.97. Acciona, the Spanish builder which holds 21 percent of Endsea, added 0.3 percent to €155.45 amid speculation that it could oppose the deal after it said last week that it would sell its stake in Endsea if the bid by Eon is accepted.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was higher on Monday, ending the session 0.3 percent higher to 1,466.91.

The car and truck making sector did not have as good a day. Porsche and Volkswagen were both lower on indications that Porsche does not intend to attempt a complete takeover of VW, as had been rumored last week. VW dropped 0.1 percent to €80.71, while Porsche was 1.3 percent lower to €889. French carmakers Renault and Peugeot each fell 0.8 percent on the session, to €95.40 and €48.46 respectively. DaimlerChrysler bucked the trend in the sector and added 0.2 percent to €47.26 on upgrades from HVB and Deutsche Bank.

In the insurance sector, reinsures were up. Hannover Re added 0.2 percent to €33.08 and Munich Re gained 1.1 percent to €125.67. Swiss Re was 3.1 percent higher to SFr106.3 on the lowest number of claims made in ten years and healthy premium payments which generated high reserves.

Among stock exchanges, Deutsche Borse gained 2.5 percent to €126.00 on consolidation hopes after Nasdaq offered for the London Stock Exchange.

Aerospace and defense company Thales dropped 1.2 percent to €37.22 even though UBS upped its target share price from €35 to €39 but left its recommendation at “neutral”.

Credit Suisse added 0.2 percent to SFr80.80 even though UBS downgraded the investment bank from “add” to “hold”. Meanwhile, Greek banks were lower on the session due to their exposure to the Turkish banking sector. The declines came after the European Union turned up the pressure on Turkey to resolve its differences with Cyprus ahead of an entrance of Turkey into the EU. National Bank of Greece dropped 1 percent to €36.60, while Alpha Bank was 1.5 percent lower to €23.70 and EFG Eurobank fell 1.8 percent to €28.20.

In Europe on Tuesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.4 percent to 1,4740.4, closing at its highest level since May 2001.

In the insurance sector, Munich Re dropped 2 percent to €128.50. Investors and analysts were not happy with its announced buyback plan, worth €1 billion, considering that the reinsurer has excess capital estimated to be in excess of €4 billion.

The European media sector saw declines on the session. Mediaset dropped 0.2 percent to €8.92 on a downgrade as it prepares to release its third-quarter report. Morgan Stanley reduced its rating on the Italian broadcaster from “overweight” to “equal-weight”. Vivendi fell 1.4 percent to €29.60 on the news that its sales in the third quarter were short of what had been anticipated. Growth of its music publishing division and in its French mobile unit was weak, as well.

Banks did well on the day. UBS added 1.1 percent to SFr76.55, while Credit Suisse gained 2 percent to SFr80.35. WestLB raised its target price on both banks, with UBS up from SFr82 to SFr86 and Credit Suisse up from SFr77 to SFr83. Deutsche Postbank was 4.6 percent higher to €61.90 on a third-quarter report that showed net profit up 16.7 percent, with interest income up almost 14 percent.

In the oil sector, Repsol was 2.6 percent higher to €27.76. JP Morgan reiterated its “underweight” rating on the Spanish company but raised its target share price from €21.50 to €23.50.

In Europe on Friday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.3 percent, but over the week the index was slightly lower to 1,447.9. The weekly decline came on a mixed banking sector.

Commerzbank added 4.3 percent on Friday to €29.01 and added 3.8 percent on the week after issuing a third quarter report showed net profits that were higher than had been expected. Credit Suisse was higher on the week as well, adding 1.4 percent to SFr77.50 on third quarter figures that were generally good despite a decline in revenue from equities trading.

On the other hand, Deutsche Bank dropped 1.5 percent during the week to €97.09. Even though it also said equities trading had been down, earnings met expectations overall. UBS reported net profits down more than had been anticipated, again on declines in equities trading. The Swiss bank was 5.3 percent lower on the week to SFr74.70.

Spanish construction group Ferrovial added 9.1 percent to €74.05 after it reported underlying profit up 86 percent in the first nine months of the year, at least partly on its purchase of British airports operator BAA earlier in the year. Still in Spain, property group Metrovacesa was 8 percent higher this week to €121 on a tripling of its profit in the first nine months of the year.

Equities markets in Europe were lower on Thursday on concerns about the state of the US economy and as the European Central Bank held interest rates level but issued comments strongly indicating that rates would be raised at its December meeting.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 closed down 0.4 percent to 1,443.94, while both the Xetra Dax in Germany and the Paris index dropped 1.1 percent, to 6,223.33 and 5,310.07 respectively.

Most banks saw declines. Credit Suisse was an exception, adding 2.3 percent to SFr76.65 on a quarterly report that beat expectations. Elsewhere, UBS fell 1.1 percent to SFr74.10 and Deutsche Bank dropped 1.9 percent to €96.70. The largest bank in Norway, DnB Nor, was 2.9 percent lower to NKr83.70 after it said its pre-tax profits dropped by 1.5 percent.

The oil sector was lower as crude oil prices continue their decline. Cepsa dropped 0.5 percent to €61.85, while Statoil was 1.2 percent lower to NKr165.50

The steel sector also saw losses, with ThyssenKrupp down 1.7 percent to €29.34 and Mittal Steel dropping 3.2 percent to €32.72.

Tire manufacturer Continental was 0.6 percent higher to €87.50 on positive broker comments from Citigroup and Merrill Lynch.

Metrovacesa added 2.9 percent to €120 after it reported that net profits were up by 176 percent in the first nine months of the year. The Spanish property group’s gains were attributed to domestic growth as well as growth in its French unit.

In Europe on Tuesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.6 percent to 1,444.16 as banks saw losses.

UBS dropped 5.1 percent to SFr74.30 after it said it saw net profits drop by 21 percent in the third quarter. It still insisted, however, that sentiment has improved and it will fulfill expectations for full-year profits. Credit Suisse was also lower, falling 1.3 percent to SFr75.

Also down on its quarterly report was Sanofi-Aventis. The pharmaceuticals company dropped 2.8 percent to €66.60 on the news that profits fell 11.6 in the third quarter, about as much as had been expected.

Things were better in the automobile manufacturing sector. DaimlerChrysler added 3.1 percent to €44.70 after a German publication reported that a spin-off of the Chrysler unit was not being ruled out by the carmaker, a rumor that not all analysts were buying. Elsewhere in the sector, Fiat was 1.1 percent higher to €13.84 and Renault gained 1.2 percent to €91.65.

European insurers were also higher after a positive third-quarter report sent Friends Provident up 6.7 percent in the UK. Generali added 1.4 percent to €31.09, while CNP Assurances was up 1.7 percent to €82.45.

In the construction sector, Spanish builder Ferrovial was 5.1 percent higher to €72.40 on the announcement that its toll roads unit had acquired a road in Chile.

The banking sector helped the FTSE Eurofirst 300 to a gain on Wednesday’s session. The Eurofirst was 1.1 percent higher to 1,341.18.

Banks weren’t the only gainers, however. Novo Nordisk, which is the world’s largest producer of insulin, gained 7.6 percent to DKr391.50 on a report that its operating profits were up by 17 percent in the first half of the year. In the electronics sector, Phillips added 4.1 percent to €26.20 ahead of an expected announcement that Silver Lake Partners and Kohlberg Kravits Roberts have prevailed in the bidding to purchase the company’s semiconductor unit.

Automobile manufacturer, BMW added 0.4 percent to €39,92. Shares in BMW had gone as high as 4 percent higher earlier in the day on the strength of its quarterly report, but it lost almost all of that gain when it was announced that the family that holds almost half of the carmaker’s stock will sell around 1.5 percent of that stake.

Among banks, Bank of Ireland added 2.2 percent to €14.26, while Anglo Irish Bank was up by 2.7 percent to €11.70. Allied Irish Bank gained 3.8 percent to €19.94 on an upgrade from “sell” to “neutral” from Goldman Sachs. In addition, Lehman Brothers raised its target share price on Allied from €20.18 to €21.75 and Deutsche Bank advanced its target share price from €21.50 to €22.

BNP Paribas ended the session at €78.20, 4.2 percent higher, after its second quarter report showed net profits up by 30.6 percent. Profits were helped by its acquisition of the Italian bank Banca Nazionale del Lavoro. Bucking the trend, Credit Suisse was down by 3.4 percent to SFr66.60 when its earnings report for the second quarter was at predictions but no better.

Among notable losers on the session was Mittal Steel, which fell by 2 percent to €26.50. The decline came on news that net profits for the recently acquired Arcelor were below expectations and even though Mittal‘s own report beat predictions.

European equities did a bit better on Wednesday, despite new data on prices out of the US that only served to heighten worries that inflation is getting out of hand. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.1 percent by the end of the trading day to 1,240.15.

Banking and finance was mixed on mergers and acquisitions issues. After Credit Suisse said that it would sell its Winterthur insurance business to French insurer Axa, Credit Suisse gained 1.4 percent to SFr63.70 but Axa dropped 1.8 percent to €23.87. Meanwhile, Greek bank Emporiki added 1.8 percent to €25.24 as investors hoped for another bid after Greece’s finance minister made the comment that it should not be too quick to accept Credit Agricole’s bid. Agricole, meanwhile, was up 2.1 percent to €27.33.

The pharmaceuticals sector also saw maneuvering around bids issues. Bayer added 6.9 percent to €32.66 when competitor Merck took itself out of the bidding for German healthcare group Schering. Schering gained 2.1 percent to €89.00, while Merck was up 6 percent to €72.58 as investors anticipated a possible special dividend.

On the negative side of the ledger, airplane manufacturer EADS lost 26.3 percent to €18.73 after announcing that delays in deliveries of the Airbus A380 superjumbo jet would cost it €2 billion next year and that in view of the delays, it would allow buyers to walk away from orders they had already placed. In consequence, Deutsche Bank issued a downgrade on EADS from “buy” to “hold” and revised its target share price downward from €33 to €26. WestLB, on the other hand, upgraded the aircraft maker to “buy”.

In Europe on Monday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 2.7 percent to 1,271.45 as investors fled emerging markets and looked for safe places to put their money.

Banks were the big losers on the day, as were stock exchanges and the steel and oil sectors.

The price of crude oil was down, taking shares in oil companies along with it. OMV dropped 5.9 percent to €40, while Norway’s Statoil was down 3 percent to NKr164 and Total lost 2.5 percent to €49.85.

In the steel sector, Arcelor dropped 5.6 percent to €32.90 as it said it was looking at a new bid from Mittal Steel and that it has called a shareholder meeting to be held on June 21 for a vote on the bid. Mittal declined by 5.9 percent to €23.91.

Euronext lost 9.5 percent to €67.55 after the New York Stock Exchange offered a bid of $21 billion for the European stock exchange operator. Deutsche Borse, which has also been in talks with Euronext, was down 8.5 percent to €101.30 on the possibility that it might raise its bid.

The banking sector saw substantial declines on the day. Those banks with high exposure to emerging markets in Europe were down the most. Raiffeisen International dropped 9.3 percent to €60.85. Eurobank, in Greece, declined by 6.9 percent to €21.20, while Alpha Bank was down 3.3 percent to €20.02.

Investment banks also saw their shares lose value. UBS fell 4.2 percent to SFr133.40. Credit Suisse lost 3.7 percent to SFr68.15. Deutsche Bank was down 3.1 percent to €88.18.

Credit Agricole was down 3.7 percent on the day to €28.92 when it said that it was assessing Alliance & Leicester ahead of a possible bid. However, CA said that the assessment was in its first stages and did not mean that a bid would be forthcoming.