The energy sector saw gains in Europe on Wednesday as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.2 percent on the day’s session, to 1,546.70. Mergers and acquisitions rumors and news drove the gains.

Endsea and Eon were both higher after Endsea said Tuesday that Eon’s bid, worth €41 billion, was “adequate” and recommended it to shareholders, who will meet to vote on the bid in late March. Endsea added 0.4 percent to €38, while Eon was 0.7 percent higher to €111.46. Eon’s domestic rival RWE added 1.2 percent to €84.22 after it said it will not enter a gas and electricity price war with Eon.

Rumors circulated that France’s Electricite de France was going to bid for Iberdrola. While EdF denied the rumors, EdF and Iberdrola each gained 2.9 percent, to €56.60 and €34.97 respectively. Elsewhere in the sector, Gas Natural added 1.8 percent to €32.92 and Union Fenosa was 4.1 percent higher to €41.63.

In the semiconductors sector, Infineon added 10.7 percent to €11.96 after it said it had concluded a deal with Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia to supply chips for its low-cost phones.

Swiss drug maker Roche dropped 2.1 percent to SFr233.50 even though it reported that profits were up 36 percent for the full year. Investors did not seem impressed with the report, which was in line with expectations, nor with the outlook for 2007, which said that Roche expects lower sales during the year for Tamiflu, its flu drug.

The automobile manufacturing sector saw declines on the session. Peugeot fell 0.5 percent to €51.90 on a lower operating margin last year. The decline was not as much as feared, however. BMW was 2.4 percent lower to €45.43 after German insurer Allianz said that it will sell 16.1 million shares in the luxury carmaker.

In Europe on Tuesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 declined by 2.2 percent to close at 1,293.39. Banks saw substantial losses, as did several other key sectors.

Automobile manufacturers were down on the day. DaimlerChrysler, Porsche, and Volkswagen each declined by 2.2 percent. Porsche’s losses were in consequence of a reiteration by Citigroup of its “sell” rating on the carmaker, its setting of a target share price of €690, and its criticism of Porsch’s recent acquisition of a stake in Volkswagen. Porsche’s shares ended the day at €754.97, while Volkswagen closed at €54.82 and DaimlerChrysler ended the session with its shares trading at €40.38. Elsewhere in the sector, BMW dropped 2.3 percent to €40.03 and Renault was down 3.1 percent to €87.75.

Utilities also took a hit on the day. Amid reports that France will attempt to retain state regulation of the price of gas and electricity after market liberalization next year in order to gain the approval of parliament for the merger of Gaz de France and Suez, Gas de France dropped 1.4 percent to €26.05 and Suez was down 3.5 percent to €29.50. In addition, Electricite de France declined by 3.7 percent to €41.31.

In the banking sector, Swiss private bank Julius Baer was down 5.3 percent to SFr105.30. National Bank of Greece did almost as badly, dropping 5.2 percent to €31.30. Commerzbank declined by 4 percent to €28.87 even though it said that rumors that it has recently suffered large derivatives losses are false. Meanwhile in Belgium, KBC lost 3.6 percent to €83.55 even though it’s quarterly report was more positive than had been expected and it received an upgrade from “add” to “buy” from West LB.

In Europe on Thursday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down by 0.6 percent to 1,383.20 as the day’s trading session closed. The oil and utilities sectors were down on lower oil prices, and the oil and mining sectors were affected by the news that China had raised interest rates unexpectedly. On the other hand, the insurance sector saw gains on the day.

UBS issued comments on several insurers and reinsurers, helping them higher. Axa received an upgrade from “neutral” to “buy, which helped it add 1.4 percent to €29.35. The recommendation on Allianz was raised from “reduce” to “neutral” and it gained 1.2 percent to €134.11. Among reinsurers, UBS reiterated its “buy” recommendations on Swiss Re and Hannover Re, and they each added 0.6 percent to SFr91.45 and €29.70 respectively. Munich Re retained its “neutral” rating and was up 1.2 percent to €113.85. Outside of the round of recommendations, Italian insurer Alleanza was up 2.8 percent to €9.757 on the news that a plan is in the works to return over €1 in excess cash to its shareholders.

Among oil companies, Statoil was down 3.1 percent to NKr203, while Neste Oil dropped 2.7 percent to €27.49 and Total declined by 1.2 percent to €222.20.

In the utilities sector, Finnish company Fortum was worst off, dropping 8.5 percent to €19.60, while Electricite de France lost 4.2 percent to €46.55, RWE was down 2.6 percent to €69.60, and Eon declined by 1.3 percent to €95.95.

Results were mixed in the chemicals sector. Bayer reported an 8.2 percent advance in operating earnings in the first quarter, adding 3.5 percent to €36.75 on the day. BASF, however, dropped 1.1 percent to €68.28.

In Europe on Thursday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up slightly ahead of the Good Friday holiday tomorrow, but volumes were low. The Eurofirst added 0.3 percent on the day to 1,369.26.

Utilities were mixed. HSBC upgraded Suez from “neutral” to “overweight” in anticipation of the proposed merger with Gaz de France, but Suez still dropped 0.2 percent to €30.97 despite a raised target share price, up to €35. HSBC initiated coverage of Gaz de France with a rating of “overweight” and a target share price of €33. As a consequence, Gaz de France was up 0.1 percent to €28.15.

Elsewhere in the sector, Electricite de France was up 2.8 percent to €47.12. HSBC initiated coverage with a “neutral” rating and a target share price of €38, but Morgan Stanley reiterated its “overweight” rating and raised the utility’s target share price to €50. German utility RWE added 1.4 percent to €72.06.

Stock exchanges were up on the day. Euronext was up 1 percent to €68 on a report that five French banks that own a combined 9.7 percent stake in the exchange were in talks to enter into a shareholder pact that would allow them in future merger decisions. The London Stock Exchange added 2.8 percent to £12.32 after it said that it could withstand bid pressure alone but was thinking about mergers with other exchanges.

In the telecommunications sector, equipment maker Ericsson gained 0.7 percent to SKr29.50 on the news that its joint venture with Sony had sold 13.3 million handsets during the first quarter, slightly above its prediction of 13.1 million, which put profits and sales above forecasts for the quarter.

Ericsson’s report helped the semiconductor sector. Infineon added 3 percent to €8.87 and ASML was up 1.3 percent to €16.71.

Among retailers, Carrefour advanced by 3.7 percent to €44.57 as it said it’s first-quarter sales were up 8.3 percent.

Equities markets in Europe saw advances on Monday on the strength of gains the oil sector as the FTSE Eurofirst gained 0.2 percent to 1,345.92, a new four and a half year high.

The oil sector was up on higher crude oil prices. Statoil gained 3.5 percent to €178. Meanwhile Saipem, the largest oil field services company in Europe, was up 3.1 percent to €16.04.

The banking sector was also up, with more takeover talk in Italian banking. Mediobanca, rumored to be a target despite an agreement that gives core shareholders 54 percent of the bank, was up 4.2 percent to a record high share prices of €17.60. Capitalia, also seen as a potential takeover target, gained 2.8 percent to €6.325. Meanwhile, EFG Eurobank was up 4 percent to €33.06 as JP Morgan raised its price target from €40 to €44 on the strength of the bank’s expansion in southeastern and central Europe.

Utilities were up on the day as well, with Electricite de France gaining 2.2 percent to €41.56 on consolidation talk. Eon gained 0.6 percent to €93.44 after its chief executive said he expects that three dominant players will emerge in the sector.

The pharmaceuticals sector was mixed. Schering was up 3.3 percent to €58.39 on an announcement that its fourth-quarter operating profits were up 30 percent, slightly higher than forecasts. It also said that it will buy the property and equipment used by its US partner, Chiron, to produce the drug Betaferon (Betaseron in the US), which is expected to be approved for the treatment of early-stage multiple sclerosis before the end of the third quarter. Shares in Novartis, which has not yet finalized its planned purchase of Chiron, was up 0.1 percent to SFr71.50.

Elsewhere in the sector, Serono dropped 2.2 percent to SFr959 as concern grew about competition between its multiple sclerosis drug Rebif with Betaferon. Sanofi-Aventis dropped 3 percent to €71.70 after regulators in the United States delayed final approval of Acomplia as a weight management treatment and rejected the drug as a stop-smoking aid.