The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 5.1 percent during the week and was down 1.4 percent on the year when it closed at 1,463.3 on Friday.

Banks were lower, with those exposed Turkey and Eastern European markets doing the worst. EFG Eurobank (ASE: EFG) dropped 8.4 percent to €27.20 after it agreed this week to purchase 70 percent of Tefkenbank of Turkey. Raiffeisen International (WBAG: RIBH) fell 9.2 percent to €102.25; the Austrian bank owns assets in Central and Eastern Europe. National Bank of Greece (LSE: NBGA; NYSE: NBG), owner of Finansbank of Turkey, was 9.5 percent lower to €38, while Alpha Bank (OTC: ALBKY) fell 12.5 percent to €21.88 even though it reported that profits were up by 24.6 percent in 2006.

Software maker SAP (FWB: SAP; NYSE: SAP) added 1.4 percent during the week to €35.34 after bids rumors and a reiterated “buy” rating from Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB).

In the automobile manufacturing sector, Volkswagen (OTC: VLKAY) and Porsche (FWB: POR3) were both lower, even though VW reported good results from its Audi division. VW dropped 1.8 percent on the week to €93.22, while Porsche fell 6.7 percent to €968.21.

Moller Maersk, the Danish shipper which has exposure to Russia and China, saw its B shares drop 7.2 percent lower this week to DKr58,200.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was lower in Monday, closing at 1533.15, a decline of 0.6 percent.

The Greek banking sector saw declines after a new report showed that use of household credit grew substantially in November, causing some investors to worry that with Eurozone interest rates rising loan defaults could reach worrisome levels. Alpha Bank dropped 1.2 percent to €24.02, while National Bank of Greece fell 1.3 percent to €38.60. EFG Eurobank was 2 percent lower to €29.10 and Bank of Piraeus was down 2.2 percent to €26.40.

Stock exchanges were lower after it was announced that stockholders in the London Stock Exchange had rejected US exchange operator Nasdaq’s bid for the company. Deutsche Borse dropped 2.2 percent to €157.45. Euronext, still in the process of closing a merger with NYSE Group, fell 4.2 percent to €85.95.

In the oil sector, a decline of 2 percent in the price of crude oil sent shares lower. Statoil was 0.6 percent lower to NKr162.25, hurt not only by lower prices but by a fourth quarter report that did not rise to expected levels. French oil company Total was down 1.2 percent to €52.10. Neste Oil dropped 2.9 percent to €23.70.

The semiconductors sector was mixed. STMicroelectronics dropped 1.4 percent to €14.53, but Infineon added 1.3 percent to €12.15 after last week’s announcement of new contracts and on new reports that private equity could be interested in bidding. Meanwhile, chip-making equipment manufacturer ASML dropped 2.7 percent to €19.16.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.1 percent Wednesday to close at 1,502.83 as a strong opening in New York helped overcome earlier declines due to profit taking.

The mining and oil sectors were mixed as base metals prices dropped and broker sentiment on oil was negative. Norsk Hydro, which has aluminium as well as oil interests, dropped 3.2 percent to NKr188.50. Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch reduced its rating on the oil sector as a whole to “underweight” on the basis of falling refining margins. Italian refiner Saras fell 0.8 percent to €4.05, while Neste Oil was 1.8 percent lower to €22.71. On the other hand, Hellenic Petroleum added 5.2 percent to €11.10 after a consortium it participates in found natural gas in Libya.

Steelmakers were hurt by a sector downgrade from Credit Suisse, which reduced its recommendation from “market weight” to “underweight”. ThyssenKrupp dropped 2 percent to €35.96, while Salzgitter fell 2.3 percent to €99.31 and Mittal Steel was 4 percent lower to €31.55.

The banking sector was higher on the session. UBS added 2.5 percent to SFr75.90. Greek banks Alpha Bank and EFG Eurobank both saw gains as well, with Alpha up 2.6 percent to €23.90 and EFG 2.9 percent higher to €28.70.

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.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was higher on Thursday as the MAN/Scania saga again raised share prices for all the companies involved in the story. The 300 added 0.8 percent to 1,436.34, yet another five-year high closing level.

MAN said it would again increase its offer for Scania from SKr442 to SKr475 per share and also announced that it has purchased 14 percent of Scania’s voting rights. Scania, backed by Investor, which owns 19 percent of Scania’s voting rights, rejected the new offer. Meanwhile, Scania revealed that its pre-tax earnings over the past nine months have gone up by 31 percent, while revenues are up almost 15 percent during that period. Volkswagen, which owns 34 percent of Scania’s voting rights and recently purchased 15 percent of MAN, continues to try to convince MAN and Scania to join it in a three-way deal.

All of this sent Scania’s A shares, those shares with voting rights, 10.1 percent higher to SKr490. Scania’s B shares added even more, gaining 11.1 percent to SKr476. MAN was 3.7 percent higher to €69.81, while Investor gained 2.2 percent to SKr162.50 and VW was up 0.4 percent to €70.24. Meanwhile Volvo, a domestic rival to Scania, added 2.7 percent to SKr458.50.

In the aerospace sector, EADS was 1.7 percent higher to €21.37 after the French and German governments said that they continue to support Airbus despite the airplane manufacturing unit’s continuing delay problems. German chancellor Angela Merkel added that her government was thinking about purchasing a stake in EADS.

The banking sector was higher on the session. Among Greek banks, EFG Eurobank gained 2.7 percent to €26.40, while National Bank of Greece added 3.8 percent to €34.74 on broker upgrades. In the French banking sector, Societe Generale was 4.2 percent higher to €135.10 on bids rumors.

Profit-taking and not entirely positive corporate earnings reports took the FTSE Eurofirst 300 0.4 percent lower on Monday to close at 1,338.31.

Tiremakers were mixed, with Continental adding 1.8 percent to €80 but Michelin dropping 1.9 percent to €47.56. Credit Suisse upgraded Continental from “neutral” to “outperform” in anticipation of its quarterly report, which is due on Thursday. At the same time, Credit Suisse reduced its earnings estimate for Michelin in both this year and in 2007.

Results in the banking sector were also varied. Greek banks did well. EFG Eurobank added 1.5 percent to €22.02 as it gets ready to release its second-quarter report on Tuesday. Meanwhile, National Bank of Greece was 1.7 percent higher after bank regulators in Turkey approved its acquisition of Finansbank there. Banks in Iceland didn’t do quite so well due to higher inflation and interest rates and a decline in the krona. Landsbanki held steady at IKr20.60, while Kaupthing dropped 0.7 percent to IKr702.

Still in the banking sector, ABN Amro was 2.3 percent lower to €21.67. Even though it said that net profits were up by 23 percent, analysts at both Bear Stearns and at Citigroup pointed out that much of those profits were due to one-time advantages such as favorable tax rates.

Spanish construction company Sacyr Vallehermoso dropped 2.2 percent to €29.95 on a downgrade from “buy” to “hold” from Citigroup. The broker did, however, raise the builder’s target share price from €30.90 to €32.

In the oil sector, Statoil was 1.9 percent lower to NKr182.50 despite quarterly profits that were higher than expected when it said that it could fall short of full-year production targets for both gas and oil.

European equities markets were lower on Monday on fears that interest rates in the region could go up more than previously expected. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.3 percent to 1,278.91.

The banking sector was mixed on the day. Credit Agricole said that it would not raise its bid for Greek bank Emporiki even though the Bank of Cyprus was reported to have submitted a higher offer than Agricole’s. Agricole dropped 0.4 percent to €28.30 and Alpha Bank, also thought to be interested in bidding for Emporiki, was down 1.1 percent to €18.80. Meanwhile, Bank of Cyprus added 1.6 percent to €7.34. Emporiki remained even at €27.48.

Elsewhere among banks, Piraeus Bank gained 3.5 percent to €18.66 after it became known that it had increased its stake in Bank of Cyprus from 5.99 percent to 6.4 percent and rumors began to circulate that Piraeus was thinking about bidding for Bank of Cyprus. EFG Eurobank dropped 1.7 percent to €21.10, while National Bank of Greece ended down 1.8 percent to €28.08.

In the steel sector, Arcelor was up 7.9 percent to €37.80 and Mittal Steel dropped 3.7 percent to €24.38 after Arcelor agreed to a new offer from Mittal which was 43 percent higher than its January bid. The newly formed company will have to divest itself of some holdings to satisfy regulatory rules. Salzgitter, which is known to be interested in Arcelor’s European holdings, added 1.9 to €63.25. On the other hand, ThyssenKrupp dropped 2.6 percent to €25.13 on concerns that its deal with Mittal to purchase US company Dofasco could be abandoned due to opposition from Arcelor.

EADS added 3.3 percent to €22.75 after the French government conceded that the aerospace firm’s governance structure should be set by its industrial partners, DaimlerChrysler and Lagardere. The French had previously asked for more influence over the company after EADS said that deliveries of its new A380 super jumbo jet will be delayed.

In Europe on Thursday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 ended the day in positive territory on a late rally. Investors seemed to discount inflation and interest rate worries even though the minutes of the most recent meeting of the US Federal Reserve, released during the day, were taken to mean that US interest rates are likely to rise again when the Fed meets later in the month.

The telecommunications sector was mixed on the day, although there were more gainers than losers. TeliaSonera dropped 4.3 percent to SKr45.80 after it admitted that its chief executive and another company official had been charged with bribery in relation to a product-launch event. Elsewhere in the sector, Dresden Kleinwort Wasserstein suggested that its clients investing in telecoms to leave Telefonica in favor of Telecom Italia. Telefonica still added 0.1 percent to €12.78 and Telecom Italia was up 1.4 percent to €2.215. Belgacom gained 3.4 percent to €25.43 on a target share price increase from €29 to €29.90 from Bear Stearns, which also reconfirmed its “outperform” rating on the company’s shares. France Telecom advanced by 0.7 percent to €17.58.

Banks were also mixed on the day. National Bank of Greece lost 5.8 percent to €31.88 after shareholders gave their approval to a rights issue intended to raise the funds to purchase a stake in Finansbank of Turkey. Another Greek bank, Alpha Bank, also saw declines on the day as it dropped 2.9 percent to €18.96. EFG Eurobank, however, added 0.1 percent to €22.06. Elsewhere, the Bank of Ireland added 5 percent to €14.15 when Lehman Brothers upped its targets share price for the bank from €13.80 to €15.17.

Utilities saw declines after several energy suppliers were raided in an investigation into anti-competitive practices. Eon, one of those utilities targeted in the raids, dropped 0.1 percent to €89.87. Also in Germany, RWE dropped 1.2 percent to €65.85. Gaz de France also declined, by 0.6 percent to €27.16.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 saw gains on Tuesday after Monday’s substantial losses, with a rise of 2.4 percent to 1,302.02. The gains came as investors looked for good buys and commodity prices turned upward again.

In the oil sector, including oil companies and companies that service oilfield operations, gains were substantial. Statoil led the way among oil companies, adding 9.8 percent to NKr180. Norsk Hydro gained 8.8 percent to NKr167.50. Neste Oil was up 7.7 percent to €24.35, while OMV advanced by 7.5 percent to €42.99.

Among companies that service the oil industry, toolmaker Atlas Copco was up 11.5 percent on the day to SKr203.50. Its peer Sandvik saw a gain of 8.1 percent to SKr439.50. Italian company Saipem matched Atlas Copco’s 11.5 percent gain to close at €17.782, while Dutch company SBM Offshore, which builds oil production and storage platforms, added 6.9 percent to €81.60.

Banks with exposure to the emerging markets of Eastern Europe, which saw substantial declines earlier, were up significantly on the day. Raiffeisen was up 10.8 percent to €65.40, while Eurobank gained 7.7 percent to €22.84 and Alpha Bank advanced by 2.3 percent to €20.06.

Stock exchange Euronext was up 3.6 percent to €70 after it accepted an offer from the New York Stock Exchange, rejecting the offer from Deutsche Borse. Euronext said that it believed the NYSE offer was in the best interest of shareholders and that regulatory approval for the merger with the NYSE would go more smoothly than an attempt to merge with Deutsche Borse. The news did not hurt Deutsche Borse, which added 1.4 percent to €102.76.

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.