In Europe on Tuesday the FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.3 percent to 1,544.99. The real estate and oil sectors were lower, while carmakers saw gains.

Porsche (Xetra: POR3; FWB: POR3) added 2.7 percent to €1,058.31, while Volkswagen (OTC: VLKAY) gained 8 percent to €94.94 on a full-year report that showed operating profit up 52 percent in 2006.

Brewers were mixed after Carlsberg (OMX: CARL A, CARL B) said that higher capital expenditures would limit 2007 profit growth. Even though its full-year report fulfilled expectations, the Danish brewer dropped 6.7 percent to DKr583. Heineken (Euronext: HEIA) was also lower, by 2.3 percent to €39.36, ahead of its report that is due Wednesday.

Elsewhere in the sector, InBev (Euronext: INB; NYSE: ABV) gained 0.5 percent to €53.07 as rumors of a merger with Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) continue to circulate. Grolsch (Euronext: GROL) added 3.3 percent to €32.94 after it reported that full-year profits exceeded expectations and announced an extra dividend.

The oil sector declined on lower prices for crude oil. Total (Euronext: FP; NYSE: TOT) dropped 1.5 percent to €52.78, while Statoil (OSE: STL; NYSE: STO) fell 1.6 percent to NKr156.

In the real estate sector, Unibail (PAR: UL) was 1.3 percent lower to €235.80 on a downgrade from “buy” to “hold” from Deutsche Bank. Also hurting the sector as a whole was news out of the UK that rising interest rates there are hurting the market.

In Europe on Thursday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.1 percent to 1,545.98, hurt by declines in the banking sector. Brewers saw gains, however, on bids rumors.

With reports circulating that InBev is talking to US brewer Anhauser-Bush, and with analysts giving those rumors a good deal of credibility, the Belgian brewer added 4 percent to €52.80. Other European brewers were helped by the rumors, with Heineken gaining 2.3 percent to €40.26. Carlsberg was 2.7 percent higher to DKr615.

French banks were lower on the session. Societe Generale and BNP Paribas both were hurt by their quarterly reports after Societe Generale reported Wednesday and BNP issued its report today, saying that while net profits were above expectations, operating profits were weaker than had been hoped. SG dropped 1.7 percent to €135 while BNP fell 3.8 percent to €83.70. Elsewhere among French banks, Credit Agricole and Natixis were each 2.6 percent lower, to €32.25 and €21.48.

In the automobile manufacturing sector, DaimlerChrysler was 3.7 percent higher to €53.42 after it announced a restructuring for its US division and said that all options were on the table concerning its US operations, leading some to expect a spin-off or either a partial or full sale of the US unit.

European equities markets were lower on Tuesday, with the FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropping 0.5 percent to 1,511.95.

The automobile manufacturing sector was lower, hurt by the possibility of interest rates going higher despite higher sales figures. Volkswagen dropped 0.2 percent to €84.38 even though sales of its Audi brand was reported to be selling well in China. Fiat was down 0.4 percent to €15 even though it said that higher sales had allowed it to achieve its full-year target on profits.

Oil companies were also lower as crude oil prices fell again. Norsk Hydro dropped. 1.2 percent to NKr186, while Repsol fell 1.8 percent to €24.95 and Statoil was 2.2 percent lower to NKr158.50. Meanwhile, energy companies were mixed on the session. Endsea was 1.6 percent higher to €37.35 after a court in Madrid lifted an injunction that was preventing Gas Natural from bidding for it. But Eon, which is also interested in Endsea, dropped 0.1 percent to €100.28, while Gas Natural was 0.8 percent lower to €29.60.

Brewers were higher on the session following broker upgrades. Inbev was 1.3 percent higher to €49.22 on a target share price upgrade from €53 to €60 from Sanford C Bernstein. Heineken added 2.8 percent to €38.87 when Morgan Stanley upped its recommendation from “equal weight” to “overweight”. Meanwhile, wine and spirits maker Pernod Ricard was up 2.2 percent to €146.40.

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.

In Europe on Tuesday the FTSE Eurofirst 300 ws down by 0.1 percent to 1,271.62. The decline came as investors remained concerned about the situation in the Middle East.

Brewers, however, had a good day. Belgian brewer InBev was up 2.3 percent to €38.19 on an earlier upgrade from “add” to “buy” from Dresdner Kleinwort, which cited coming higher profits in China. Carlsberg gained 2.6 percent to DKr416 as Morgan Stanley upgraded the Danish brewer from “underweight” to “equal weight”. Heineken advanced by 3.9 percent to €34.26 on raised target share prices from Merrill Lynch and Dresdner Kleinwort after it raised its full-year prediction for growth in profits. Dresdner Kelinwort upped Heineken’s target share price from €35 to €36, while Merrill Lynch increased it’s target for the brewer from €36.50 to €38.

Elsewhere in beverages, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling gained 2.9 percent to €24.60 after Coca-Cola in the United States reported higher than predicted profits in the second quarter. The Greek bottler is the second-largest Coca-Cola bottler in the world.

There were also gains in the engineering sector. Sandvik added 1.7 percent to SKr75.50, while Atlas Copco gained 2.5 percent to SKr166.50 after its second-quarter report said on Monday that profits were up by 32 percent.

Among the day’s losers was the automobile manufacturing sector. BMW dropped 0.9 percent to €37.70 after Deutsche Bank downgraded the carmaker from “buy” to “hold”. Daimler Chrysler was 1.3 percent lower to €37.07. Volkswagen declined by 1.4 percent to €51.56.

European equities markets were up in mid-afternoon trade on Friday, with the FTSE Eurofirst up 0.2 percent to 1,358.08. Additionally, Germany’s Xetra Dax was up 0.1 percent to 5,861.5 and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.4 perent to 5,062.2

Companies related to food production and sales were mixed on the day. Danone was up 2 percent to €96.95 on an upgrade from “equalweight” to “overweight” from Morgan Stanley coupled with a new share price target of €108. Earnings growth for the company was predicted to reach the mid-teens in the next two years. Food retailer Ahold, the fourth largest in the world, was also up, by 1.3 percent to €6.99 as it said it is thinking of making significant acquisitions for the first time since it nearly went bankrupt three years ago. Numico, however, lost 3.1 percent to €35.99 on a downgrade to “in-line” by Goldman Sachs on the basis of its cautious outlook statement.

In the related brewing sector, Inbev was down 3.1 percent to €36.54 despite full year earnings reports which showed operating profits coming in slightly above predictions at €3.33 billion, with growth at 15.3 percent.

The utilities sector was still seeing bid rumours. Endsea, a bid target for Eon, was up 0.6 percent to €26.24. In new rumors, Gaz de France and Suez are said to be thinking of forming an alliance to repel a bid for Suez by Enel of Italy. Gaz de France gained 2.6 percent to €29.35 and Suez was up 4.1 percent to €33.32, while Enel dropped 0.7 percent to €7.12.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Sanofi Aventis gained 0.5 percent to €72.45 despite announcing that the launch of its anti-obesity treatement in the United States could be put off until later in the year. The drug company’s full-year report showed that net profits were up by 25.7 percent to €6.34 billion, and it said that its earnings should grow by about 10 percent this year.

European equities markets saw increases on Monday, primarily on gains in the automobile manufacturing sector. Most brewers were also up, as were some parts of the chemicals industry. Other companies did not fare so well on the day.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.3 percent to 1,326.87 after a loss of 0.5 percent on Friday. Meanwhile, Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax gained 0.5 percent to 5,728.68 and in France the CAC-40 was up 0.3 percent to 4,923.19.

In the automobile manufacturing sector, Volkswagen was up 5.3 percent to €58.33 on the strength of an increased target price of €55, up from €38, by UBS. Porsche was also the recipient of an upgrade, from HVB, to “outperform” from “neutral”, sending its shares up 4.2 percent to €695,50. Porsche’s price target was also raised, from €688 to €718. Renault gained 4.2 percent to €83.05 and BMW gained 2.3 percent to €40.50.

Meanwhile, brewers Heineken and Carlsberg both also received upgrades to “buy” from Merrill Lynch. Heineken gained 2.1 percent on the day to €29.14, while Carlsberg was up 1.9 percent to DKr368. Carlsberg’s joint venture with Scottish & Newcastle as well as its cost-cutting opportunities, were among the reasons for its ratings bump. Bucking the upward trend, Belgian brewer Inbev was down 1.8 percent to €38.59 as Merrill Lynch downgraded it to “sell” on issues related to valuation.

In the chemicals sector, Swiss specialty chems company Clariant was up as much as 10 percent during the day and settled up 2.7 percent to €20.70 on news over the weekend that it is at an advanced stage in sale talks with private-equity firms.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Roche was down 2 percent to SFr188.10 even though it said there would be no financial impact due to its suspension of patient recruitment for trials on Avastin, a colon cancer drug. The suspension was said to be on account of safety concerns.

Norwegian energy group Statoil dropped 3.4 percent to NKr170.50 after it reported that its fourth quarter operating profits were up less than had been anticipated.