The FTSE Eurofirst 300, higher early in the session, ended 0.3 percent lower to 1,522.87. The Eurofirst was hurt late by a slow start to the New York trading day.

The semiconductors sector saw gains in the day. Infineon added 2.4 percent to €11, while STMicroelectronics gained 2.5 percent to €14.38. STM was helped by positive comments from brokers that took the focus off the chipmaker’s disappointing quarterly results, announced on Wednesday. WestLB said that the new figures should be looked at in a wider context and hiked STM’s target share price from €16 to €18.

Nokia added 5 percent to €16.26 after reporting record mobile phone sales in the fourth quarter and amid mixed broker sentiment. While Merrill Lynch is advising its customers to buy the cell phone maker, Dresdner Kleinwort is recommending that its clients sell the stock.

Automobile manufacturers declined on new of losses by Ford Motor. BMW fell 1.4 percent to €45.99. DaimlerChrysler and Porsche were each 2.3 percent lower, to €48.64 and €1,010 respectively, with Credit Suisse lowering Porsche’s rating from “outperform” to “neutral” and suggesting that investors take profits. Peugot was down 3.3 percent to €52.

Airlines also saw losses. Iberia fell 1 percent to €3.01, while Air France-KLM dropped 3.9 percent to €32 and Lufthansa was 5.6 percent lower to €20.76 after it said that passenger yields would not grow significantly this year.

Banks were lower in Europe on Wednesday, sending the FTSE Eurofirst 300 down 0.7 percent to 1,477.47. It was the Eurofirst’s lowest close in two weeks.

The energy sector was mixed after the Supreme Court in Spain lifted an injunction that had barred bids for Endsea from Eon and Gas Natural, leaving only one remaining legal hurdle before bids can be offered. Endsea was 2.6 percent higher to €36.37, but Eon dropped 0.2 percent to €96.59 and Gas Natural was 2.1 percent lower to €29.24.

In the banking sector, Erste Bank fell 3.4 percent to €57.55 after Credit Suisse issued a short-term “sell” recommendation on the stock on concerns of immediate concerns about earnings momentum. However, Credit Suisse maintained its overall “neutral” recommendation on the bank. Meanwhile, Raiffeisen International dropped 3.7 percent to €107.46.

There were gains in the semiconductors sector. Infineon added 0.2 percent to €10.96 on an upgraded targets share price from Deutsche Bank based on a better outlook from its wireless unit. STMicroelectronics gained 0.8 percent to €14.65 after an upgrade from “underweight” to “overweight” from Lehman Brothers, which also upped the chipmaker’s target share price.

Among mobile phone manufacturers, Nokia dropped 2.2 percent to €14.63 on a lowered target share price, from €16.50 to €16.30, from Deutsche Bank. Ericsson, on the other hand, received an upgrade from “hold” to “buy” from Deutsche Bank, which also upped its target share price from SKr27.509 to SKr32.50. Still, Ericsson ended the session steady at SKr28.25.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 2 percent lower over the week, closing at 1,421.17 on Friday as a strong euro hurt several sectors. One analysis said that corporate profits could be down by up to 4.4 percent next year if the euro continues to strengthen. New data showing that the US economy is slowing down also hurt European equities.

In the automobile and transport equipment sector, most stocks dropped. The exception was MAN, which added 1.1 percent to €70.71 as rumors circulated that Scania could counter bid for the German truck maker while rejecting its overtures. Scania was 0.4 percent lower to SKr473. Elsewhere among carmakers, BMW fell 3.8 percent over the week to €41.20, DaimlerChrysler dropped 4.7 percent to ¥43.41, and Renault was 5.1 percent lower to €88.35.

The pharmaceuticals sector was lower as well. Bayer only dropped 0.4 percent to €38.83, but Roche fell 3.8 percent to SFr212.3 during the week.

Cell phone maker Nokia was 6.8 percent lower over the week to €14.91 on a reduced outlook on profits and negative comments from Dresdner Kleinwort, which said that Nokia’s net income could decline as much as 20 percent in 2007. On the other hand, positive comments from Morgan Stanley helped airline Lufthansa add 1.4 percent over the week to €19.49.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 ended the week at 1,445.39 on Friday, adding 0.3 percent for the session and brining its gains since the beginning of the year to 13 percent. The day’s close was its highest since early June 2001.

Several sectors saw gains over the week. The forestry and paper sector did very well. UPM Kymmene was 6 percent higher to €19.9, while Stora Enso added 8.2 percent to €12.73 and M-Real of Finland gained 17.2 percent to €4.83 on the introduction of a restructuring plan.

Safran, the French manufacturer of jet engines, added 7.3 percent over the week to €16.84 on rumors of a merger with defense company Thales.

Spanish property group Metrovacesa was the big gainer of the week as it was up 18.4 percent to €125.1. It is now 70.2 percent higher than it was at the beginning of September on the strength of bids rumors.

Among losers this week, Nokia dropped 4.2 percent to €15.4 on disappointing quarterly results and lower prices for its phones. Software maker SAP fell 4.9 percent to €156.85, also on its quarterly report. In the semiconductors sector, ASML was 6.9 percent lower to €17.9, while Akzo Nobel was down 10.5 percent on its quarterly report and on the delay of its new anti-schizophrenia drug.

In Europe on Thursday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.32 percent to 1,441.16 as quarterly reports continue to emerge from various sectors.

Food groups were lower on the session. Nestle said that it saw sales grow by 9.1 percent in the first nine months of the year, which was about what analysts expected, but investors were unhappy with that result, which was lower than the 9 percent sales growth reported by Danone earlier in the week. Danone was 1.6 percent lower to €115, while Nestle dropped 2.5 percent to SFr427.

In the semiconductors sector, declines in the US sent Infineon 2.2 percent lower to €9.85. In another computer-related sector, German software group SAP was hurt by the announcement that it would likely not meet estimates for the full year. Even though it reported that sales were up by 17 percent in the third quarter, SAP dropped 3.1 percent on the session to €159.45. Even though its outlook was disappointing, both Dresdner Kleinwort and WestLB maintained their recommendations of “buy” and “hold”, respectively on the software maker.

In the telecommunications sector, Nokia was 3.6 percent lower to €15.36. While the Finnish phone maker’s sales were up during the third quarter, its earnings were lower than had been forecast. Elsewhere in the sector, Ericsson added 1.7 percent to SKr27.05 as its joint venture with Sony helped group profits rise.

Other gainers on the session included tire maker Michelin, which added 3.3 percent to €61.65 on an increased targets share price from Dresdner Kleinwort. In addition, Swiss pharmaceuticals company Novartis was 2.2 percent higher to SFr75.45 on net profits that were 12 percent higher in the third quarter.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.1 percent higher on Monday to 1,374.02 as the car and truck manufacturing sector was again in the news. Swedish stocks were generally higher after an election there, sending Stockholm’s OMX 30 index 0.7 percent higher for the session.

As expected German truckmaker MAN made a bid for Swedish rival Scania. Scania, however, rejected the bid, worth €9.6 billion in cash and shares, in concert with major shareholders Volkswagen and Investor. Shares in MAN dropped 5.3 percent on the news, to €60.61, while Scania’s B shares were 5.9 percent higher to SKr449.50. Investor B shares added 0.7 percent to SKr154, while Volkswagen ended the session even at €65. Renault, which said that it had sold its Scania shares to MAN, dropped 1.8 percent to €88.15. Outside the MAN/Scania situation but still in the sector, DaimlerChrysler fell 0.8 percent to €38.85 after a 5.6 percent decline on Friday after it cut its operating profits forecast for the year.

Swedish companies that saw gains due to the post-election bounce included TeliaSonera, up 1.1 percent to SKr45.70 on speculation that the new center-right government, which owns 45.3 percent in the telecom operator, could sell its stake. Nordea Bank was 1.6 percent higher to SKr94.50, also on the expectation that the new government will sell its 20 percent stake for up to €5.2 billion. Likewise, air carrier SAS gained 2.2 percent to SKr93.75 on the possibility that the government will sell its 21.4 percent stake in the airline.

Not all Swedish shares were up, however. Telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson was up early but ended the session down 0.4 percent to SKr24.80. Elsewhere in the telecoms equipment sector, Finnish company Nokia continued its decline, dropping 1.1 percent to €14.97 amid continuing rumors that it will issue a profits warning soon.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up by 0.4 percent on Friday, but ended the week down 1.5 percent from where it began on Monday, closing out the session at 1,356.66.

In the telecommunications sector, Telecom Italia was 1.4 percent higher on Friday, to €2.26, ending the week 4.2 percent higher on talk that it will sell its mobile phone operations for around €35 billion. It has also been rumored that it might divest itself of its fixed-line network. The news spurred Dresdner Kleinwort to repeat its “buy” recommendation and target share price of €40. Pirelli, the biggest shareholder in the company controlling Telecom Italia added 4.7 percent on the day and was 11.6 percent higher on the week to, closing at €0.77. Meanwhile, mobile handset maker Nokia fell 6.1 percent to €15.15 this week as rumors that it will issue a profits warning soon continued to circulate.

In the retail sector, Ahold gained 3.3 percent during the week to €7.73, but JP Morgan was not impressed, saying that management had not adequately explained why the company’s US results were so much better in the second quarter than in the first, saying that if second-quarter gains were largely from one-off factors that they should not be used to predict future results. Elswhere, Metro dropped 6 percent to €43.32 after a group of shareholders said that they will sell their 5.4 percent stake in the German retailer.

Profit-taking sent European equities markets lower on Tuesday after Monday’s advances. Also helping the losses were weaker than expected earnings reports and downgrades from brokers. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.4 percent lower to 1,378.98.

In the banking sector, Anglo Irish Bank declined by 3.1 percent to €12.69 after a trading update that disappointed. Elsewhere in the sector, Deutsche Postbank was 1.6 percent lower to €60.60 on a downgrade from “hold” to “reduce” and a lowering of its target share price from Dresdner Kleinwort. Credit Agricole was 0.8 percent higher to €31.94 after it made an offer on Monday for the shares it does not already own in Greek insurer Phoenix Metrolife. Emporiki Bank added 1.9 percent on the news. Phoenix Metrolife is a division of Emporiki.

Insurer Alleanza declined by 3.4 percent to €9.263 after it reported that both revenue and premium income had dropped in the first half. This worried investors even though net profits were up by 28 percent. The Italian bank also said that it would not return cash to shareholders as planned. Generali, which controls Alleanza, were 0.5 percent lower to €29.34.

In the telecommunications sector, Nokia dropped 1.6 percent to €15.78 even though traders tended not to believe talk that the company will soon issue a profit warning.

Indications from the United States of a slowing economy there affected European markets, sending the FTSE Eurofirst 300 0.6 percent lower to 1,353.26 on Wednesday.

Further news from the US in the form of a revenues warning from National Semiconductor, send the European semiconductors sector lower. ASML and Infineon each dropped 1.1 percent to €16.41 and €8.66 respectively. STMicroelectronics fell by 1.5 percent to €12.44.

In telecommunications related sectors, equipment makers were lower, as were most telecoms operators. The exception was Telekom Austria, which added 2.5 percent to €18.97. Deutsche Telekom dropped 0.6 percent to €11.50 after HSBC reaffirmed its “underweight” recommendation and dropped its target share price to €10.20, while France Telecom was 1 percent lower to €16.42. Among equipment makers, Nokia was down 2 percent to €16.45, while Ericsson dropped 2.2 percent to SKr22.70.

EADS fell 2.2 percent to €22.05 after rumors that the aerospace company was running behind by at least two years on the development of its Airbus A400M military transport. Recently, EADS was hurt by reports of delays on its A380 superjumbo passenger jet.

Among gainers on the day was Nestle, which added 2.3 percent to SFr417.75 after going as high as SFr419.50 during the day, a record high, after it reported better than expected first half results.

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.