The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 5.1 percent during the week and was down 1.4 percent on the year when it closed at 1,463.3 on Friday.

Banks were lower, with those exposed Turkey and Eastern European markets doing the worst. EFG Eurobank (ASE: EFG) dropped 8.4 percent to €27.20 after it agreed this week to purchase 70 percent of Tefkenbank of Turkey. Raiffeisen International (WBAG: RIBH) fell 9.2 percent to €102.25; the Austrian bank owns assets in Central and Eastern Europe. National Bank of Greece (LSE: NBGA; NYSE: NBG), owner of Finansbank of Turkey, was 9.5 percent lower to €38, while Alpha Bank (OTC: ALBKY) fell 12.5 percent to €21.88 even though it reported that profits were up by 24.6 percent in 2006.

Software maker SAP (FWB: SAP; NYSE: SAP) added 1.4 percent during the week to €35.34 after bids rumors and a reiterated “buy” rating from Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB).

In the automobile manufacturing sector, Volkswagen (OTC: VLKAY) and Porsche (FWB: POR3) were both lower, even though VW reported good results from its Audi division. VW dropped 1.8 percent on the week to €93.22, while Porsche fell 6.7 percent to €968.21.

Moller Maersk, the Danish shipper which has exposure to Russia and China, saw its B shares drop 7.2 percent lower this week to DKr58,200.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was lower in Monday, closing at 1533.15, a decline of 0.6 percent.

The Greek banking sector saw declines after a new report showed that use of household credit grew substantially in November, causing some investors to worry that with Eurozone interest rates rising loan defaults could reach worrisome levels. Alpha Bank dropped 1.2 percent to €24.02, while National Bank of Greece fell 1.3 percent to €38.60. EFG Eurobank was 2 percent lower to €29.10 and Bank of Piraeus was down 2.2 percent to €26.40.

Stock exchanges were lower after it was announced that stockholders in the London Stock Exchange had rejected US exchange operator Nasdaq’s bid for the company. Deutsche Borse dropped 2.2 percent to €157.45. Euronext, still in the process of closing a merger with NYSE Group, fell 4.2 percent to €85.95.

In the oil sector, a decline of 2 percent in the price of crude oil sent shares lower. Statoil was 0.6 percent lower to NKr162.25, hurt not only by lower prices but by a fourth quarter report that did not rise to expected levels. French oil company Total was down 1.2 percent to €52.10. Neste Oil dropped 2.9 percent to €23.70.

The semiconductors sector was mixed. STMicroelectronics dropped 1.4 percent to €14.53, but Infineon added 1.3 percent to €12.15 after last week’s announcement of new contracts and on new reports that private equity could be interested in bidding. Meanwhile, chip-making equipment manufacturer ASML dropped 2.7 percent to €19.16.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was higher on Monday, ending the session 0.3 percent higher to 1,466.91.

The car and truck making sector did not have as good a day. Porsche and Volkswagen were both lower on indications that Porsche does not intend to attempt a complete takeover of VW, as had been rumored last week. VW dropped 0.1 percent to €80.71, while Porsche was 1.3 percent lower to €889. French carmakers Renault and Peugeot each fell 0.8 percent on the session, to €95.40 and €48.46 respectively. DaimlerChrysler bucked the trend in the sector and added 0.2 percent to €47.26 on upgrades from HVB and Deutsche Bank.

In the insurance sector, reinsures were up. Hannover Re added 0.2 percent to €33.08 and Munich Re gained 1.1 percent to €125.67. Swiss Re was 3.1 percent higher to SFr106.3 on the lowest number of claims made in ten years and healthy premium payments which generated high reserves.

Among stock exchanges, Deutsche Borse gained 2.5 percent to €126.00 on consolidation hopes after Nasdaq offered for the London Stock Exchange.

Aerospace and defense company Thales dropped 1.2 percent to €37.22 even though UBS upped its target share price from €35 to €39 but left its recommendation at “neutral”.

Credit Suisse added 0.2 percent to SFr80.80 even though UBS downgraded the investment bank from “add” to “hold”. Meanwhile, Greek banks were lower on the session due to their exposure to the Turkish banking sector. The declines came after the European Union turned up the pressure on Turkey to resolve its differences with Cyprus ahead of an entrance of Turkey into the EU. National Bank of Greece dropped 1 percent to €36.60, while Alpha Bank was 1.5 percent lower to €23.70 and EFG Eurobank fell 1.8 percent to €28.20.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was higher on Thursday as the MAN/Scania saga again raised share prices for all the companies involved in the story. The 300 added 0.8 percent to 1,436.34, yet another five-year high closing level.

MAN said it would again increase its offer for Scania from SKr442 to SKr475 per share and also announced that it has purchased 14 percent of Scania’s voting rights. Scania, backed by Investor, which owns 19 percent of Scania’s voting rights, rejected the new offer. Meanwhile, Scania revealed that its pre-tax earnings over the past nine months have gone up by 31 percent, while revenues are up almost 15 percent during that period. Volkswagen, which owns 34 percent of Scania’s voting rights and recently purchased 15 percent of MAN, continues to try to convince MAN and Scania to join it in a three-way deal.

All of this sent Scania’s A shares, those shares with voting rights, 10.1 percent higher to SKr490. Scania’s B shares added even more, gaining 11.1 percent to SKr476. MAN was 3.7 percent higher to €69.81, while Investor gained 2.2 percent to SKr162.50 and VW was up 0.4 percent to €70.24. Meanwhile Volvo, a domestic rival to Scania, added 2.7 percent to SKr458.50.

In the aerospace sector, EADS was 1.7 percent higher to €21.37 after the French and German governments said that they continue to support Airbus despite the airplane manufacturing unit’s continuing delay problems. German chancellor Angela Merkel added that her government was thinking about purchasing a stake in EADS.

The banking sector was higher on the session. Among Greek banks, EFG Eurobank gained 2.7 percent to €26.40, while National Bank of Greece added 3.8 percent to €34.74 on broker upgrades. In the French banking sector, Societe Generale was 4.2 percent higher to €135.10 on bids rumors.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down by 0.3 percent on the session Thursday as a mixed banking sector was in focus. Airlines were also mixed.

Alitalia was 0.1 percent lower to €0.95 on rumors that it wants to merge with Air France-KLM after it said it would announce a plan soon to return to profits. Meanwhile, Air France-KLM added 2.9 percent to €21.30 after it said that its first-quarter profits were up by 84 percent.

Among banks which saw gains, Piraeus Bank was 0.1 percent higher to €20.42 Banca Popolare Italiana was up by the same percentage to €9.86. Banca Popolare di Verona e Novara added 3.6 percent to €23.20 on merger talks, while National Bank of Greece advanced by 3.9 percent to €32.40 after it reported that its first-half profit was up by 65 percent.

Agriculture Bank of Greece was flat at €4.12 even though Deutsche Bank raised its target share price from €4.70 to €4.90. Meanwhile, Credit Agricole dropped 2.4 percent to €31.71 on investor concerns over the merger in Italy of Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo. Agricole holds 18 percent of Intesa. In Belgium, KBC dropped 6.5 percent to €84.05 on a caution that its second half might not live up to performance in the first half. Fortis reduced its recommendation on the banking and insurance group from “buy” to “hold”.

Elsewhere in Europe, Thales added 0.4 percent to €33.92 after Merrill Lynch upgraded the defense electronics group from “neutral” to “buy” on the basis of strong orders. On the other hand, in the semiconductors sector, STMicroeletronics dropped 2.2 percent to €12.85 on a downgrade from “hold” to “sell” from Citigroup.

Banks were mixed on Monday in Europe as mergers and acquisition talk carried over from last week. Meanwhile, gains in technology stocks helped lead the FTSE Eurofirst 300 up by 0.4 percent to 1,364.89. Oil companies were down as crude oil prices fell again.

European oil companies were lower after crude oil prices fell on a reduced chance that there would be any damage to oil interests in the Gulf of Mexico from the current storm in the region. Norsk Hydro was 0.9 percent lower to NKr167, while Statoil dropped 1.1 percent to NKr174.

In the semiconductors sector, STMicroelectronics added 1.4 percent to €12.70. Infineon gained 2 percent to €9.03.

Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI were down slightly after last week’s gains on the strength of a proposed merger as shareholders began to have doubts about the deal worked out by the boards of the two banks in a Saturday meeting. Sanpaolo was 1.4 percent lower to €15.87, while Intesa dropped 1.6 percent to €4.99.

Spanish bank Santander, which owns 8.4 percent of Sanpaolo, added 0.7 percent to €12.08. Meanwhile, it was said that Credit Agricole, which owns almost 18 percent of Intesa, was trying to set terms for the deal, especially surrounding the issue of branches to be sold after any merger. Agricole added 1 percent to €32.75.

Elsewhere in the banking sector, Deutsche Postbank was 3.1 percent higher to €62.01 after it was said that Deutsche Post was ready to sell its 50.1 percent holding. On speculation that Deutsche Bank might be interesting in buying, Deutsche Bank added 0.4 percent to €89.02. Deutsche Post gained 2.5 percent to €19.57 on the speculation.

Greek banks, however, were down on the day after a terrorist attack at a Turkish coastal resort. A number of Greek banks have holdings in Turkish banks. EFG Eurobank, which owns EFG Istanbul Securities, and Alpha Bank each dropped 1.2 percent to €23.98 and €20.86 respectively. National Bank of Greece, which finalized its purchase of Finansbank of Turkey just last week, declined by 1.8 percent to €30.50.

Gains in recently ailing technology sectors helped the FTSE Eurofirst 300 higher on Wednesday. The Eurofirst added 0.3 percent to 1,359.59. Banks exposed to emerging European economies also did well.

Raiffeisen International, the Austrian bank that bought Impex Bank of Russia earlier in the year was 4.5 percent higher to €71.26. Meanwhile, National Bank of Greece, which purchased Turkish bank Finansbank, gained 3.3 percent to €32.24 and Erste Bank added 2.7 percent to €46.89. Erste has spent over €6.3 billion in acquiring east European holdings since the beginning of the decade.

In the telecommunications equipment sector, Ericsson was 1.8 percent higher to SKr23 on positive comments from Dresdner Kleinwort. Elsewhere in the sector, Nokia and Alcatel each added 2.8 percent to €16.48 and €9.47 respectively.

Phillips Electronics was 0.1 percent higher to €25.94 after it said it would sell Enabling Technologies Group, which manufactures components for industrial equipment, to VDL Groep. Phillips has been in the process of restructuring for some time and comments from Merrill Lynch indicated that there was probably more to come.

In the utilities sector, Eon dropped 0.1 percent to €99.89 even though Deutsche Bank repeated its “buy” recommendation and increased its target share price from €105 to €110.

Profit-taking and not entirely positive corporate earnings reports took the FTSE Eurofirst 300 0.4 percent lower on Monday to close at 1,338.31.

Tiremakers were mixed, with Continental adding 1.8 percent to €80 but Michelin dropping 1.9 percent to €47.56. Credit Suisse upgraded Continental from “neutral” to “outperform” in anticipation of its quarterly report, which is due on Thursday. At the same time, Credit Suisse reduced its earnings estimate for Michelin in both this year and in 2007.

Results in the banking sector were also varied. Greek banks did well. EFG Eurobank added 1.5 percent to €22.02 as it gets ready to release its second-quarter report on Tuesday. Meanwhile, National Bank of Greece was 1.7 percent higher after bank regulators in Turkey approved its acquisition of Finansbank there. Banks in Iceland didn’t do quite so well due to higher inflation and interest rates and a decline in the krona. Landsbanki held steady at IKr20.60, while Kaupthing dropped 0.7 percent to IKr702.

Still in the banking sector, ABN Amro was 2.3 percent lower to €21.67. Even though it said that net profits were up by 23 percent, analysts at both Bear Stearns and at Citigroup pointed out that much of those profits were due to one-time advantages such as favorable tax rates.

Spanish construction company Sacyr Vallehermoso dropped 2.2 percent to €29.95 on a downgrade from “buy” to “hold” from Citigroup. The broker did, however, raise the builder’s target share price from €30.90 to €32.

In the oil sector, Statoil was 1.9 percent lower to NKr182.50 despite quarterly profits that were higher than expected when it said that it could fall short of full-year production targets for both gas and oil.

Gains in the oil and banking sectors helped European equities markets higher on Monday. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.4 percent to 1,318.95.

Carmaker Renault added 0.2 percent to €84.20 ahead of a board meeting set to discuss whether it will, along with Nissan, go into business with US automaker General Motors. At least one analyst said that such a partnership would make sense, but that it should be approached carefully considering the relatively weak position of GM at present.

The banking sector was mixed, but still helped out European markets as a whole. The National Bank of Greece dropped 4.1 percent to €29.62 on profit taking after a gain of almost 9 percent on Friday. Elsewhere, things were better. Banca Popolare Italiana added 6 percent to €7.77 after an Italian newspaper reported over the weekend that Societe Generale, Fortis, and Deutsche Bank had all approached Popolare with bids. Deutsche Bank gained 0.5 percent to €88.40, Societe Generale was up 0.9 percent to €116, and Fortis advanced by 1.6 percent to €27.10.

Among oil stocks, Cepsa gained 1.4 percent to €55.85, while Statoil added 1.7 percent to NKr179.50.

EADS dropped 0.8 percent to €22.28 after Rothschild valued the 20 percent of Airbus that BAE Systems owns at a lower figure than had been expected. BAE Systems also declined, by 3.3 percent. EADS also announced, over the weekend, that co-chief executive has resigned over the Airbus A380 delays and investigations into his financial dealings and that the head of Airbus, Gustav Humbert, was also stepping down.

European equities markets were lower on Monday on fears that interest rates in the region could go up more than previously expected. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.3 percent to 1,278.91.

The banking sector was mixed on the day. Credit Agricole said that it would not raise its bid for Greek bank Emporiki even though the Bank of Cyprus was reported to have submitted a higher offer than Agricole’s. Agricole dropped 0.4 percent to €28.30 and Alpha Bank, also thought to be interested in bidding for Emporiki, was down 1.1 percent to €18.80. Meanwhile, Bank of Cyprus added 1.6 percent to €7.34. Emporiki remained even at €27.48.

Elsewhere among banks, Piraeus Bank gained 3.5 percent to €18.66 after it became known that it had increased its stake in Bank of Cyprus from 5.99 percent to 6.4 percent and rumors began to circulate that Piraeus was thinking about bidding for Bank of Cyprus. EFG Eurobank dropped 1.7 percent to €21.10, while National Bank of Greece ended down 1.8 percent to €28.08.

In the steel sector, Arcelor was up 7.9 percent to €37.80 and Mittal Steel dropped 3.7 percent to €24.38 after Arcelor agreed to a new offer from Mittal which was 43 percent higher than its January bid. The newly formed company will have to divest itself of some holdings to satisfy regulatory rules. Salzgitter, which is known to be interested in Arcelor’s European holdings, added 1.9 to €63.25. On the other hand, ThyssenKrupp dropped 2.6 percent to €25.13 on concerns that its deal with Mittal to purchase US company Dofasco could be abandoned due to opposition from Arcelor.

EADS added 3.3 percent to €22.75 after the French government conceded that the aerospace firm’s governance structure should be set by its industrial partners, DaimlerChrysler and Lagardere. The French had previously asked for more influence over the company after EADS said that deliveries of its new A380 super jumbo jet will be delayed.