The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.6 percent lower on Tuesday to 1,477.94 as the oil and steel sectors declined on lower prices for commodities.

In the steel sector, ThyssenKrupp dropped 1 percent to €33.27 even though UBS hiked its target share price when the broker left its recommendation at “neutral”. Salzgitter was also lower, falling 3.8 percent to €96.59 after Credit Suisse reduced its recommendation from “outperform” to “neutral”.

Oil companies were also on the losing end for the session. After a gain of 20 percent on Monday, Norsk Hydro dropped 0.7 percent to NKr187.25. The decline came after Dresdner Kleinwort said that the Monday gains, coming after the announcement of a merger between Norsk Hydro and Statoil, were out of proportion. The broker cut its recommendation on Norsk Hydro to “sell”. Statoil was down 3.1 percent on the session, to NKr164.75, even though JP Morgan said that the merger makes sense for the oil company.

Elsewhere in the oil sector, declines came after Monday’s drop in crude oil prices. Total was 0.9 percent lower to €54.50 as OMV dropped 1.2 percent to €43.33.

In the telecommunications sector, Swisscom added 1.1 percent to SFr457.25 after it said that it will buy back a 25 percent share of Swisscom Mobile from UK company Vodafone. The news spurred Citigroup to hike Swisscom’s target share price from SFr430 to SFr452.50. Meanwhile, hopes of continued privatization sent Hellenic Telecom 1.9 percent higher to €23.72.

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.

In Europe on Tuesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.5 percent to 1,364.9 on worries that both US and eurozone interest rates could be going up again soon. The likelihood that eurozone rates could go up again was increased by new data on German business confidence that was up more than had been expected.

The telecommunications sector was instrumental in the declines after the European Commission said it will cut international roaming charges on calls made from mobile phones. The plan could cut charges to consumers by as much as 60 percent. UK mobile company Vodafone was down 4 percent to 119½p. Spanish company Telifonica Moviles lost 0.8 percent to €10.74. TeliaSonera, listed in Stockholm, dropped 1.3 percent to SKr46.40.

There were also losses among fixed-line telecommunications companies. Hellenic Telecom dropped 3 percent to €17.80, Telekom Austria was down 2.5 percent to €19.42, and France Telecom declined by 1.5 percent to €18.71.

Among insurers, Alleanza of Italy was down 4.9 percent to €9.95 even though it said net profits would be up by 30 percent by 2008. Swiss Life dropped 4 percent to SFr266 as investors worried that most of its 44 percent profits in 2005 had been due to one-time income.

In the biotechnology sector, Swiss company Serono added 2 percent to SFr933 on rumors that a bid for the company would be forthcoming soon.