The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.84 percent lower to 1,482.25 as European markets declined on Monday.

In Paris the CAC-40 fell 0.8 percent to 5,386.43, while the Dax dropped 0.82 percent to 7,375.44 in Frankfurt.

Madrid’s IBEX was 1.06 percent lower to 13,726.3. Banks led both the CAC-40 and the Dax.

HypoVereinsbank (FWB: HVM) added 0.62 percent to €40.82 in Frankfurt, while in Paris Dexia (Euronext: DEXB) was up 1.27 percent to €20.79.

Energy-related shares were higher.

Oil company Total (Euronext: FP; NYSE: TOT) gained 0.22 percent to €54.54, while utility Eon (FWB: EOA; LSE: EON; NYSE: EON) was 0.56 percent higher to €119.69 and power generator Alstom (Euronext: ALO) was up 0.87 percent to €127.79.

The car and truck manufacturing sector was mixed.

Volkswagen (FWB: VOW; OTC: VLKAY) gained 0.39 percent to €150.04 and Peugeot (Euronext: UG; OTC: PEUGY) added 0.63 percent to €56, but truck maker Man (FWB: EDF1) dropped 1.45 percent to €98.66.

Retailers were mixed as well, with Metro (FWB: MEO) 0.61 percent higher to €60.61 but Carrefour (Euronext: CA) down 1.78 percent to €46.99.

The steel sector was lower on the session.

ThyssenKrupp (FWB: TKA; LSE: THK) was 2.02 percent lower to €39.77 and Mittal Steel (Euronext: MT; NYSE: MT) fell 2.9 percent to €45.13, while steel products manufacturer Vallourec (Euronext: VK) was down 2.89 percent to €176.84.

Bouygues (Euronext: EN), with interest in both media and construction, was the worst performer on the CAC-40 as it fell 2.97 percent to €44.17.

In a related sector, construction materials group Lafarge (Euronext: LG; NYSE: LR) was down 1.49 percent to €105.90. Meanwhile, financial planners MLP (FWB: MLP) had the worst day on the Dax with a drop of 2.11 percent to €11.18.

European markets declined on Wednesday.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 1.69 percent lower to 1,523.24.

In Frankfurt, the Dax dropped 1.73 percent to 7,588.03, while the Paris CAC-40 fell 2.14 percent to 5,551.55 and the IBEX was down 2.31 percent to 14,252.5 in Madrid.

There was only one winner on the CAC-40, in the banking sector, where Dexia (Euronext: DEXB; Euronext: DX; LuxSE: DXB) added 0.19 percent to €20.93.

Meanwhile, the Dax saw only two gainers on the day.

HypoVereinsbank (FWB: HVM) was 0.57 percent higher to €40.45, while chemicals group Altana (FWB: ALT; NYSE: AAA) had the best performance there with a gain of 1.61 percent to €17.73.

Carmakers were lower, with Renault (Euronext: RNO) turning in the worst performance on the CAC-40 with a drop of 4.09 percent to €95.00.

Peugeot (Euronext: UG; OTC: PEUGY) was the second-biggest loser of the day in Paris as it fell 3.89 percent to €57.13 after it said it could cut as many as 8,000 jobs by the end of the year.

Airlines were also lower.

Lufthansa (FWB: LHA) was down 2.77 percent to €21.12, while Air France (Euronext: AF; NYSE: AKH) dropped 3.26 percent to €29.70.

In the banking sector, Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) fell 2.93 percent to €118.40.

Among pharmaceuticals groups, Bayer (FWB: BAY; NYSE: BAY; TYO: 4863) was 2.53 percent lower to €57.20 on the announcement that it would delist from the New York Stock Exchange.

Aerospace group EADS (Euronext: EAD; FWB: EAD) was 3.01 percent lower to €21.26.

European equities markets saw gains on Monday.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.54 percent higher to 1,481.43, with Madrid’s IBEX adding 0.22 percent to 14,269.1, the Dax up 0.4 percent to 7,407.53 in Frankfurt, and the Paris CAC-40 gaining 0.67 percent to 5,399.38.

Utilities were mostly higher.

The exception was RWE (FWB: RWE), which fell 1.2 percent to €80.72 in Frankfurt.

In Spain, Iberdrola (IBEX-35: IBE) added 0.6 percent to €39.27.

Among Paris-listed utilities Suez (Euronext: SZE; NYSE: SZE) was 1.56 percent higher to €37.65 and EDF (Euronext: EEN) was 2.18 percent higher to €70.87, while power generator Alstom (Euronext: ALO) had the best day on the CAC-40 with a gain of 3.54 percent to €122.37.

The telecommunications sector was also higher.

Spain’s Telefonica (IBEX-35: TEF; Euronext: TEF; NYSE: TEF; LSE: TDE; FWB: TEF; TYO: 9481) was 0.4 percent higher to €17.43 on the news that its O2 unit in German will drop its Internet services fee to a flat monthly rate.

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext: ALU; NYSE: ALU; TYO: 6687) was up 1.81 percent to €7.87, while Deutsche Telekom (FWB: DTE; NYSE: DT; LSE: DEU; TYO: 9496) gained 2.12 percent to €13.45. The steel sector made gains.

ThyssenKrupp (FWB: TKA; LSE: THK) gained 2.05 percent to €40.88, while Mittal Steel (Euronext: MT; NYSE: MT) was 3.43 percent higher to €41.28.

Banks were mixed.

While HypoVereinsbank (FWB: HVM) was 1.1 percent higher to €40.21, Deutsche Bank (FWB: DBK; NYSE: DB) was the worst performer on the Dax with a drop of 1.45 percent to €93.30.

On the CAC-40, Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) fell 0.18 percent to €117.95.

The worst performance on the session on the CAC-40, however, came from Air France (Euronext: AF; NYSE: AKH), which fell 0.8 percent to €27.30.

Deutsche Boerse (FWB: DB1) had the best day on the Dax with a gain of 3.51 percent to €79.75.

European markets were significantly higher on Tuesday as they attempt to recover from last week’s declines.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 2.01 percent to 1,548.24.

The Dax was 1.71 percent higher to 7,584.14 in Frankfurt, while the Paris CAC-40 gained 1.85 percent to 5,751.08 and Madrid’s IBEX jumped 2.03 percent to 14,802.4.

Banks were mostly higher on the session.

BNP Paribas (Euronext: BNP; TYO: 8665) was 3.1 percent higher to €81.73, while Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) gained 3.17 percent to €127.44 and Credit Agricole (Euronext: ACA) was up 3.24 percent to €28.35.

In Frankfurt, meanwhile, Deutsche Bank (FWB: DBK; NYSE: DB) gained 4.02 percent to €100.62 but HypoVereinsbank (FWB: HVM) was down 0.23 percent to €42.84.

Airlines were higher, with Air France (Euronext: AF; NYSE: AKH) adding 3.07 percent to €33.29 and Lufthansa (FWB: LHA) gaining 3.36 percent to €20.65.

Car and truck makers also saw gains.

DaimlerChrysler (FWB: DCX; NYSE: DCX; TYO: 7663) was 3.45 percent higher to €66.69, while Peugeot (Euronext: UG; OTC; PEUGY) added 3.21 percent to €62.34 and Renault (Euronext: RNO) was up 4.65 higher to €107.06 on a broker upgrade from ABN Amro (Euronext: AAB; NYSE: ABN).

Truck maker Man (FWB: EDF1) was the day’s best performer on the Dax with a gain of 4.28 percent to €107.09.

Property investment company Unibail (Euronext: UL) had the best day on the CAC-40 as it added 5.88 percent to €175.30.

There were few declines on the day, but in the telecommunications sector Alcatel-Lucent fell 9.28 percent to €8.70 on a disappointing earnings report based on costs that were merger-related.

The worst performance on the Dax came from engineering group Siemens (FWB: SIE; NYSE: SI), which was 1.63 percent lower to €93.71 after rumors circulated that it would issue more shares.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.4 percent to 1,450.5 on Monday’s session as financial sectors saw gains that helped balance out losses in the oil sector.

The banking sector was helped by expectations of good earnings reports as well as by continuing bids rumors. Italian bank UniCredit was 0.8 percent higher to €6.62 and Hypovereinsbank added 1.9 percent to €36.63 on the news that Polish legislators voted on Friday to approve a merger between the two banks. Elsewhere in the sector, Raiffeisen International gained 1.1 percent to €86.95 and Danske Bank was 2 percent higher to DKr246 ahead of next week’s quarterly report. Natexis Banques Populaire gained 3.2 percent to €225.20 on speculation about an upcoming merger.

Airlines did well as oil prices continued to decline. Ryanair was 1.3 percent higher to €8.82, while Air France-KLM gained 2.1 percent to €26.35 and Lufthansa added 2.4 percent to €17.31. The sector was also helped by a 2.9 percent gain in the UK by British Airways on an upgrade from Citigroup.

Dropping oil prices did now, however, give any comfort to the oil sector. Repsol and Royal Dutch Shell each dropped 0.8 percent, to €25.83 and €27.03 respectively. Italian refiner Saras was 1.9 percent lower to €4.06 on a lower target share price from Morgan Stanley, which handed out target downgrades to other companies in the sector as well.

OMV fell 2 percent to €41.25, while Statoil was 2.6 percent lower to NKr166 even though Banc of America upgraded the Norwegian company. In the Greek portion of the sector, Hellenic Petroleum dropped 2.6 percent to €9.84, again on a Morgan Stanley downgrade. Morgan Stanley also reduced Neste Oil’s recommendation, from “overweight” to “equal weight”, sending the Finnish refiner 3 percent lower to €23.30. Norsk Hydro saw the biggest loss in the sector, dropping 4.1 percent to NKr151.50.