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.

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.

Mergers and acquisitions rumors once again helped European equities see gains on Monday as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.6 percent to 1,429.95.

The airlines sector was mixed on the session. On an announcement by the Italian government that it will reduce its stake in Alitalia to less than 30 percent, from the 49.9 percent that it now holds, the Italian air carrier added 2.4 percent to €0.96. Air France-KLM, which recently said that it is in preliminary talks with Alitalia concerning a possible merger, dropped 0.7 percent to €30.30. Analysts for Citigroup, however, felt that it would be more likely that domestic bidders would be interested rather than foreign carriers such as Air France or Lufthansa. Lufthansa was nonetheless 2.4 percent higher to €19.95 when Morgan Stanley reaffirmed its “overweight” rating and lifted the carrier’s target share price from €18.20 to €25.

In the utilities sector, Spanish power generators were up on rumors that the government could hike electricity tariffs by 10 percent in 2007. If this turns out to be the case, it would be largest increase in the tariffs in 20 years. Endsea was 0.4 percent higher to €35.15, while Iberdrola added 1.5 percent to €33.48 and Union Fenosa gained 2.7 percent to €39.94.

Also in Spain, property group Inmocaral purchased 15 percent of builder FCC from Acciona. FCC added 3.6 percent to €75.20 and Inmocaral was 5.7 percent higher to €5.38. Acciona, which did not say how it would use the €1.53 billion it will receive for the transaction, gained 0.4 percent to €131.50. Some analysts expect that Acciona will use the money to buy more of a stake in Endsea as part of an attempt to foil Germany’s Eon from acquiring Endsea. Eon was 1.5 percent higher on the session, to €95.90.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 came back from a series of losing sessions to gain 1.3 percent on Wednesday, closing at 1,443.38. It was the best percentage gain for the 300 in two months.

The car and truck manufacturing sector was instrumental in the day’s gains. Even though Porsche said its share of Volkswagen was steady at 27.4 percent, rumors - which were denied by Porsche - persisted that it is getting ready to make a bid for VW, possibly in conjunction with private equity. Porsche added 3.8 percent to €887.39, while VW gained 4.3 percent to €85.50 as almost 16 million shares changed hands. VW has added 168 percent to its share value since April 2005.

Meanwhile, German truck maker MAN was 5.2 percent higher, to €70.79 on rumors that Scania, which MAN is trying to buy, could offer a counter bid. Scania dropped 0.9 percent to SKr465. Elsewhere in the sector, DaimlerChrysler added 1 percent to €44.40, Peugeot was 1.8 percent higher to €48.01, and Fiat gained 3.1 percent to €14.31.

In the utilities sector, Iberdrola added 4.4 percent to €33.48 after its bid for Scottish Power led Merrill Lynch to reconfirm its “buy” recommendation. On the other hand, WestLB cut its targets share price for Iberdrola to €34, citing its belief that the Spanish utility is paying too much for Scottish Power.

In Europe on Tuesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 came back from early losses but still ended the session 0.3 percent lower to 1,425.35. The 300 was down 0.6 percent at one point on the session.

The pharmaceuticals sector was lower. Roche dropped 1.5 percent to SFr215.50 even though Bear Stears made positive comments, reaffirming its “outperform” rating and target share price of SFr280 for the Swiss drug maker. Meanwhile, Akzo Nobel was 1.7 percent lower to €41.86 after announcing that US drug company Pfizer had dropped out of a development deal with the Dutch group.

Utilities were lower as well. Finnish utility Fortum dropped 1.4 percent to €22.44 after it abandoned plans to raise electricity rates for its domestic non-commercial customers. Iberdrola issued an expected bid for Scottish Power but the offer was lower than expected, sending its shares 2.1 percent lower to €32.06. German utility RWE, up recently on bids rumors, fell 2.6 percent to €83.80.

The automobile manufacturing sector was mixed as the euro hit its highest level in almost two years in relation to the US dollar. Volkswagen and Porsche were both higher, with Porsche adding 0.3 percent to €854.55 and VW gaining 2.5 percent to €82 on rumors that Porsche was building more of a stake in VW. On the other hand, BMW and Renault each dropped 0.3 percent, to €41.72 and €91.25 respectively, while DaimlerChrysler was 0.7 percent lower to €43.96.

In Europe on Wednesday the FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.2 percent to 1,465.95.

Utilities fell to profit-taking and a court ruling that delayed the Suez/Gaz de France merger. Suez was 1.1 percent lower to €36.09, while Gaz de France dropped 2.5 percent to €32.36. Meanwhile Iberdrola, which is expected to bid for Scottish Power soon, fell 1.6 percent to €33.27.

The banking sector was mixed. Credit Agricole dropped 4 percent to €32.90 and earned it a broker downgrade after its third-quarter earnings report disappointed. Elsewhere in the sector, BNP Paribas added 0.2 percent to €84.20 but Societe Generale dropped 0.2 percent to €130.

Gainers on the session included the airlines sector. Lufthansa was 1.9 percent higher to €19.31, while Air France-KLM gained 3.2 percent to €32.25. The gains came after Australia’s Qantas Airways was the recipient of a takeover offer.

Stock exchanges were also higher. Euronext added 5.3 percent to €95.85 after it agreed with NYSE Group on the structure of the board of directors once the two complete their merger. Meanwhile Deutsche Borse was 6.5 percent higher to €138.13 on rumors that it will take a stake in Bulgaria’s stock exchange.

In the construction sector, French group Vinci gained 2.7 percent to €95.55 on speculation that it might be the target of a bid from private equity.

Mixed news on the US economy the FTSE Eurofirst 300 lower on Thursday as concerns about that issue outweighed mergers and acquisitions activity in banking. The Eurofirst was 0.2 percent lower to 1,467.27.

Banks were in focus on the session as the sector was mixed on bids and earnings news. Financial services group Sampo added 7.8 percent to €19.08 on the news that it will sell its banking unit, Sampo Bank, to Danske Bank of Denmark for DKr30.1 billion in cash. Danske Bank dropped 4 percent to SKr252 on analyst opinion that it is spending too much to buy Sampo Bank.

Allied Irish Banks were 0.3 percent higher to €21.87 on a report that its Polish division, Zachodni WBK, saw a gain of 29 percent in profits in the third quarter as more people in Poland took out mortgages. Greek bank Piraeus added 1 percent to €23 on upgrades from JP Morgan and Investment Bank of Greece. Investment Bank raised its recommendation of Piraeus from “accumulate” to “buy”, while JP Morgan upped its target share price from €26 to €28, citing its performance in the third quarter. On the other hand, Raiffeisen International dropped 3.2 percent to €86.60 despite a tripling of net profits in the quarter. The decline was due to losses on loans in Russia and Ukraine.

Elsewhere, Belgian brewer Inbev added 2 percent to €46.03 on a third-quarter report of net profits that were 25 percent higher due to growth in eastern Europe and Latin America. The third-quarter figures were higher than had been anticipated.

In the energy sector, Spanish power generator Iberdrola dropped 1.8 percent to €35.46 on the announcement that is thinking of bidding for Scottish Power in the UK.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 1.9 percent during the week to close at 1,396.45 on Friday, driven largely by activity among Spanish stocks. The activity made Spain’s IBEX-35 index the top performer in Europe over the week with a 4.4 percent gain to 12,934.7. The IBEX was as high as 13,001.6 at one point on Friday.

In the utilities sector, Endsea added 14.4 percent over the week to close at €33.55 on the news that Acciona had purchased a 10 percent stake in the utility and was thinking of buying more. This move was seen as a potential deal-breaker for the proposed Endsea/Eon merger. Eon, the German utility, reacted by raising its bid by 38 percent, but that sent it to a loss of 2.7 percent on the week to €93.48 as investors feared a bidding war. Acciona, on the other hand, was 5.9 percent higher on the week to €120.

Meanwhile, Iberdrola added 9.4 percent over the week to €35.30 after construction group ACS said that it had become the largest shareholder in the power generator with a 10 percent stake. Dresdner Kleinwort said that the purchase by ACS could protect Iberdrola from foreign takeover attempts. It was also seen as a step toward a merger between Iberdrola and Union Fenosa. The activity sent Union Fenosa 0.3 percent higher to €40.28, while ACS added 2.9 percent to €37.40.

Also in Spain, this time in the construction sector, Sacyr Vallehermoso gained 13 percent during the week to €35.85, largely on speculation that it would be a bids target. The rumors had ACS as a possible bidder, but most analysts dismissed the talk.

European equities markets were up on Tuesday, mainly on gains in the energy sector spurred on by a bidding war for Spain’s Endsea.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.7 percent to 1,355.05. In Frankfurt, the Xetra Dax fained 0.7 percent as well, to 5,836.56, while in Paris the CAC 40 was up to 5,013.78.

Eon, Germany’s largest energy firm, has launched a counter bid for Endsea, which has already received an offer from Gas Natural, another Spanish company. Because Eon’s bid is nearly three times Gas Natural’s market value, it isn’t considered likely that Gas Natural will improve its bid. However, Gas Natural is expected by some analysts to instead bid for Iberdrola.

Eon was trading up 2.9 percent to €96.10 after an initial decline. Endsea was up 9.4 percent to €27.87, while Iberdrola gained 6.7 percent to €27.05 and Gas Natural was up 0.9 percent to €24.56. Other European utilities also benefited from the speculation. Suez was up 3.3 percent to €30.66, Energias de Portugal gained 3.5 percent to €2.94, RWE rose 3.6 percent to €72.80, and Veolia Environment advanced by 3.9 percent to €44.00.

In other sectors, brewer Carlsberg was down 3.4 percent to DKr369 despite reporting a full-year operating profit up 3.4 percent from 2004, well below the 7.3 percent increase that had been expected.

Swedish bank Svenska Handelsbanken, however, reported higher than predicted operating profits for the full year, sending its shares up 4.4 percent to SKr201.