In Europe on Tuesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.4 percent to 1,4740.4, closing at its highest level since May 2001.

In the insurance sector, Munich Re dropped 2 percent to €128.50. Investors and analysts were not happy with its announced buyback plan, worth €1 billion, considering that the reinsurer has excess capital estimated to be in excess of €4 billion.

The European media sector saw declines on the session. Mediaset dropped 0.2 percent to €8.92 on a downgrade as it prepares to release its third-quarter report. Morgan Stanley reduced its rating on the Italian broadcaster from “overweight” to “equal-weight”. Vivendi fell 1.4 percent to €29.60 on the news that its sales in the third quarter were short of what had been anticipated. Growth of its music publishing division and in its French mobile unit was weak, as well.

Banks did well on the day. UBS added 1.1 percent to SFr76.55, while Credit Suisse gained 2 percent to SFr80.35. WestLB raised its target price on both banks, with UBS up from SFr82 to SFr86 and Credit Suisse up from SFr77 to SFr83. Deutsche Postbank was 4.6 percent higher to €61.90 on a third-quarter report that showed net profit up 16.7 percent, with interest income up almost 14 percent.

In the oil sector, Repsol was 2.6 percent higher to €27.76. JP Morgan reiterated its “underweight” rating on the Spanish company but raised its target share price from €21.50 to €23.50.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.2 percent on Wednesday to 1,369.99 as the vehicle manufacturing sector saw advances on the session.

Driving the sector was news that German truck manufacturer MAN is thinking of offering for Swedish rival Scania. MAN will have to convince Volkswagen, which owns a 34 percent voting share in Scania, and holding company Investor, which votes 19 percent of the Swedish company, that the merger is a good idea. Dresdner Kleinwort has said it thinks the deal makes sense.

While MAN dropped 0.9 percent to €60.12, Scania B shares added 8.3 percent to SKr422. Volkswagen gained 2 percent to €64.28 and Investor B shares were 2.7 percent higher to SKr150.5. Volvo, the second-largest truck manufacturer in the world, added 1.1 percent on the news, to SKr443.50.

In the telecommunications sector, Telecom Italia dropped 0.9 percent to €2.27 as the Italian government and unions reacted negatively to the radical restructuring plan announced by TI on Monday. Unions have reportedly begun making plans to strike.

Elsewhere in Italy, broadcaster Mediaset was 4.7 percent lower to €8.67 after it said it will likely miss its target for growth in advertising sales by 2 to 3 percent.

European equities markets were up on Wednesday even though investors seemed determined to put off much activity until after the US Federal Reserve announces its decision on US interest rates. Its announcement will come after European markets close on Thursday.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.2 percent to close the session at 1,272.25.

Oil stocks were up again as the price of crude oil continued to rise. Total gained 0.5 percent to €49.48, while Neste Oil was up 1.1 percent. Royal Dutch Shell A-shares listed in Amsterdam advanced by 1.5 percent to €25.61.

The media sector saw gains after the takeover saga involving US company Warner Music and the UK’s EMI stepped into the spotlight. Telecom Italia Media, which runs two broadcast television stations, digital channels, and a news agency, added 8.5 percent to €0.3718 after rumors escalated that publisher De Agostini might make a bid. However, Telecom Italia, down 1 percent to €2.118, which holds 69 percent of TI Media, and De Agostini both denied that there was a deal in the works. Elsewhere in the sector, Mediaset added 0.9 percent to €8.93. French broadcaster TF1 added 2.2 percent to €24.78, while its rival M6 gained 1.5 percent to €23.70.

After a decline of 9 percent on Tuesday, Danish shipper AP Möller-Maersk added 2.6 percent to DKr44.100 even though HSBC lowered its recommendation from “overweight” to “neutral” and lowered its target share price from DKr60.155 to DKr47.72.

In Europe on Tuesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 1.2 percent to 1,367.27. Italian politics had more than a little to do with the day’s trade. Romano Prodi unseated Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi but only by a narrow margin that left it unclear how many reforms the new parliament would be able to enact.

The Italian banking sector was down significantly in the wake of the election results. Unicredito dropped 3.8 percent to €5.83, while Banche Popolari Unite lost 3.5 percent to €19.48 and Mediobanca was down 3.4 percent to €17.23. Elsewhere, Swiss bank UBS lost 1.7 percent to SFr144.10 after it said it would buy Piper Jaffray’s private client branch network, paying $500 million cash for the acquisition. The loss came even though analysts said the purchase was a good one for UBS.

Despite his loss in the Italian election, Silvio Berlusconi’s day wasn’t completely a loss. His Mediaset broadcasting company added 1.1 percent to €10.17 as analysts said its shares were trading at a discount. Bear Stearns reiterated its “outperform” rating and target share price, set at €12.

Shares in companies that must purchase fuel were down as crude oil prices again were up. Ryanair declined by 2 percent to €7.38, while Lufthansa dropped 3.2 percent to €14.33 even though it reported an 0.4 percent rise in traffic.

In the telecommunications sector, the largest maker of telecom equipment, Nokia, added 3.7 percent to €17.60 after it announced that first-quarter handset prices had gone up to €103, above its forecast of €99 or less. Before the report was released, Dresdner Kelinwort Wasserstein had reiterated its “sell” recommendation on the stock predicted a lower selling price for handsets and consequent limits to revenue growth in the quarter.