Despite gains in several sectors due to continuing mergers and acquisitions news and rumors, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.1 percent to 1,370.04 on Monday as crude oil prices continued to decline.

Speculation that Spanish construction company OHL was discussing a possible merger with French peer Eiffage sent Eiffage 3.6 percent higher to €78.25. OHL added 4 percent to €15.75. Meanwhile, Sacyr Vallehermoso gained 1 percent to €32.05 on rumors that Sacyr is thinking of adding to its current 33.3 percent holding in Eiffage.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, UCB of Belgium said it would purchase Schwarz Pharma of Germany, a move that Credit Suisse said made sense. The news sent UCB 0.1 percent lower to €47, but Schwarz was 17.7 percent higher to €89.07. Others in the sector were benefited by the news, including Novo Nordisk, which gained 1.3 percent to DKr432.

There was also bids talk in the airlines sector as Lufthansa was said to be looking to buy, although it said that remarks by its CEO had been misinterpreted. Lufthansa dropped 0.4 percent to €16.14. Despite the denials SAS, which was said to be one of the rivals Lufthansa was interested in, was 2.1 percent higher to SKr97. Ryanair added 3.7 percent to €8.45. The gains were helped as well by the falling oil prices.

Declines in the oil sector were substantial. Neste Oil fell 3.8 percent to €21.16, while Norsk Hydro dropped 4.5 percent to NKr138.75 and Statoil declined 5 percent to KNr147.25.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 1.1 percent on Wednesday to close at 1,380.92 as several sectors were affected by mergers and acquisitions rumors.

In the retail sector, Ahold was said to be thinking about selling its US operations to Belgian retailer Delhaize. Hedge funds Paulson & Co and Centaurus Capital, which own 6.4 percent of Ahold between them, have been urging the company to sell their US division for some time. Ahold was 1.4 percent higher to €8.08 and Delhaize added 1.8 percent to €62.20.

French builder Eiffage gained 5 percent to €75.25 after it said it is in talks with Spanish company Sacyr Vallehermoso. It was unclear whether there was merger in the works or if Sacyr would attempt to purchase outright the portion of Eiffage that it does not already own. According to JP Morgan, however, it might cost Sacyr too much to buy the 68 percent of Eiffage’s shares that it doesn’t currently hold. At any rate, Sacyr added 2 percent to €31.42 on the news.

After admitting that it had been approached once and amid speculation that it could receive further inquiries, German tire maker Continental was 2.3 percent higher to €90.40. Dresdner Kleinwort said that the company was a good candidate for a leveraged buy-out, noting that any deal to do so would be the largest LBO in German history. Elsewhere in the sector, French rival Michelin added 1.2 percent to €55.35.

With several European markets closed due to a holiday, trade was light on Thursday. However, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 managed to add 1.2 percent on the day to 1,300.26.

Among the stocks seeing gains on the day, several were helped by broker upgrades. Among those were Eiffage, the French construction group, which added 1.5 percent to €53.95 after Citigroup upgraded it from “hold” to “buy”, at least partly on a likely merger with Spanish builder Sacyr Vallehermoso, which owns 33 percent of Effiage already. Sacyr was also up on the day, by 2.5 percent to €24.05.

In the banking sector, Spain’s Banco de Sabadell gained 2.4 percent to €26.81 on an upgrade from “hold” to “buy” from Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.

Deutsche Bank upgraded ProSiebenSat.1 from “hold” to “buy”, sending the German broadcaster 5.1 percent higher to €20.00.

Other companies saw their shares gain value on bargain-hunting by investors. In the steel sector, for example, ThyssenKrupp gained 4.6 percent on the day to €26.29.

Losers on the day included stock exchanges. Euronext lost 1.6 percent to €65.90 after one of its major shareholders dropped its advocacy for a deal between it and Deutsche Borse, which dropped 2.9 percent to €97.82.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.2 percent to 1,364.88 on Wednesday as a result of profit-taking and the fallout of high commodity prices.

After the announcement that Nasdaq had acquired nearly 15 percent of the London Stock Exchange, mergers within the sector became a hot topic of conversation. Among the moves being rumored were a merger of the LSE and Euronext in order to stave off a possible hostile takeover of LSE by Nasdaq, with the Tuesday move only an opening gambit. Amid the rumors, Euronext added 1.7 percent to €67.35. Deutsche Borse also benefited from the talk, rising 1.5 percent to €112.48.

Talk of possible bids also had an effect on the construction and telecommunications sectors. In construction, Spanish group Sacyr-Vallehermoso and French company Eiffage both were down on the day after it was said that Sacyr might soon make a bid for Eiffage. Sacyr dropped 2.4 percent to €25.86, while Eiffage was down 1.1 percent to €121.80.

In the telecommunications sector, KPN was up and Belgacom was down slightly on reports that Belgacom might bid for KPN. Belgacom lost 0.1 percent to €27.81, while KPN added 1.6 percent to €9.67. Belgacom’s chief executive said that no bid for KPN was forthcoming, but the company has expressed an interest in buying Vodafone’s stake in Belgian operator Proximus. However, analysts believe that a move in that direction would find Belgacom in competition with companies such as Telekom Austria, which was down 0.9 percent on the day to €18.44.

Elsewhere in the telecommunications sector, Ericsson added 2.8 percent to €29.30 on an increased target share price, from SKr30 to SK4 32, from Lehman Brothers. Nokia dropped 1.2 percent to €17.38 on profit-taking and despite comments from Credit Suisse that Nokia’s valuation is attractive and its product portfolio was improving.