In Europe, equities markets managed gains on Friday, but not always enough to gain back Thursday’s losses.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.47 percent to 1,546.53.

In Paris the CAC-40 gained 0.21 percent to 5,700.65, while Madrid’s IBEX was 0.22 percent higher to 14,459 and the Dax was 0.77 percent higher to 7,794.43 in Frankfurt.

Commerzbank (FWB: CBK) was the best performer on the Dax with a gain of 4.13 percent to €29.31, but the banking sector was mixed as Dexia (Euronext: DEXB) dropped 0.98 percent to €21.31.

Meanwhile on the CAC-40, Mittal Steel (Euronext: MT; NYSE: MT) topped the leaders, adding 3.72 percent to €54.12.

Elsewhere in the sector, ThyssenKrupp (FWB: TKA; LSE: THK) was up 2.91 percent to €44.23.

Steel products manufacturer Vallourec (Euronext: VK) was 2.36 percent higher to €201.74.

Carmakers saw gains.

BMW (FWB: BMW) added 2.97 percent to €35.73, while Renault (Euronext: RNO) climbed 3.31 percent to €100.

On the other hand, truck manufacturer Man (FWB: EDF1) was 1.36 percent lower to €104.96.

The worst performer on the day on the CAC-40 came from drinks maker Pernod-Ricard (Euronext: RI), which added 2.5 percent to €147.76.

Pharmaceuticals group Bayer (FWB: BAY; NYSE: BAY; TYO: 4863) had the best day on the Dax with a gain of 4.23 percent to €56.55.

Utilities were lower on the session.

RWE (FWB: RWE) was 0.52 percent lower to €86.22, while Gaz de France (Euronext: GAZ) was down 0.77 percent to €34.88 and EDF (Euronext: EEN) dropped 1.71 percent to €70.54.

Airlines saw losses again. Lufthansa (FWB: LHA) slipped 0.56 percent to €19.52, while Air France (Euronext: AF; NYSE: AKH) fell 1.87 percent to €24.73.

European markets were lower on Monday as the subprime crisis continued to cause disturbances.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 1.32 percent to 1,487.28.

In Frankfurt, the Dax was 0.24 percent lower to 7,479.83, while Madrid’s IBEX fell 1.18 percent to 13,696.9 and the Paris CAC-40 was down 1.8 percent to 5,439.37.

There were only four gainers on the CAC-40, led by eyeglass lens and frame maker Essilor International (Euronext: EF), which gained 0.53 percent to €43.58.

Drinks group Pernod-Ricard was up 0.23 percent to €152.90.

The other two gainers were both utilities.

Suez (Euronext: SZE; NYSE: SZE) added 0.15 percent to €38.90 and EDF (Euronext: EEN) was 0.46 percent higher to €74.14.

Utilities also saw gains on the Dax, where Eon (FWB: EOA; LSE: EON; NYSE: EON) gained 0.72 percent to €127.11 and RWE (FWB: RWE) was up 1.5 percent to €83.68.

The best performer on the Dax was stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse, which added 2.73 percent to €82.47.

Big decliners included, in Paris, Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext: ALU; NYSE: ALU; TYO: 6687) with a drop of 5.23 percent to €6.16 and financial planner MLP (FWB: MLP), which fell 3.66 percent to €10.37.

Others seeing declines included Deutsche Post (FWB: DPW; LSE: DPO) with a decline of 1.33 percent to €20.84.

Deutsche Bank (FWB: DBK; NYSE: DB) dropped 2.05 percent to 88.22.

Schneider Electric (Euronext: SCHN) was 5.02 percent lower to €87.83, while STMicroelectronics (Euronext: STM; NYSE: STM) fell 3.08 percent to €11.66.

European equities markets were higher Monday.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 2.37 percent to 1,514.49.

In Frankfurt the Dax was 1.78 percent higher to 7,474.33, while Madrid’s IBEX added 1.92 percent to 14,731.8 and the Paris CAC-40 was up 2.21 percent to 5,569.28.

Car and truck manufacturers saw gains.

Peugeot (Euronext: UG; OTC: PEUGY) was up 3.24 percent to €59.57 and Renault (Euronext: RNO) gained 3.79 percent to €98.74 in Paris, while in Frankfurt DaimlerChrysler (FWB: DCX; NYSE: DCX; TYO: 7663) was up to €62.45 and truck manufacturer Man (FWB: EDF1) gained 4.63 percent to €98.53.

Airlines were also higher, with Lufthansa (FWB: LHA) up 4.23 percent to €19.92 while Air France (Euronext: AF; NYSE: AKH) added 5.04 percent to €30.

Chemicals group Altana (FWB: ALT; NYSE: AAA) had the best day on the Dax with a gain of 5.15 percent to €15.71.

Meanwhile, the best performer on the CAC-40 was tire maker Michelin (Euronext: ML), which was 5.35 percent higher to €88.81.

Other gainers included steel maker ThyssenKrupp (FWB: TKA; LSE: THK) with a gain of 3.82 percent to €39.65 on a broker upgrade from “hold” to “add”.

Property investor Unibail (Euronext: UL) turned in the worst performance on the CAC-40, dropping 1.96 percent to €170.77, while the worst day on the Dax was in the financial services sector as MLP (FWB: MLPB) - formerly Marschollek, Lautenschlager, and Partner - with a decline of 2.84 percent to €12.33.

Software manufacturer SAP (FWB: SAP; NYSE: SAP) fell 0.53 percent to 39.29.

Food processor Groupe Danone (Euronext: BN; NYSE: DA) was 0.69 percent lower to €54.35, while drinks producer Pernon-Ricard (Euronext: RI) dropped 0.88 percent to €153.76.

European equities markets saw their biggest losses in five years On Thursday.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 2.62 percent to 1,530.56.

Among continental markets, the Dax was 2.39 percent lower to 7,508.96, while the IBEX was down 2.66 percent to 14,540.4 in Madrid and the Paris CAC-40 fell 2.78 percent to 5,675.05.

There were no winners reported on the CAC-40, while the best performance on the Dax came from electricity and natural gas utility RWE (FWB: RWE) only amounted to a gain of 1.49 percent to €79.52.

Elsewhere on the Dax, rival utility Eon (FWB: EOA; LSE: EON; NYSE: EON) was 0.38 percent higher to €117.26.

The chemicals sector was also a bit higher in Frankfurt as BASF (FWB: BFA; NYSE: BF) added 0.26 percent to €95.07 and Altana (FWB: ALT; NYSE: AAA) gained 0.7 percent to €17.35.

Car and truck makers were lower on the session.

BMW (FWB: BMW) was 2.62 percent lower to €36.73 and truck manufacturer Man (FWB: EDF1) fell 2.74 percent to €103.43, while Peugeot (Euronext: UG; OTC: PEUGY) was down 4.28 percent to €59.06 and Renault (Eurofirst: RNO) dropped 4.83 percent to €102.88.

The worst performer on the CAC-40 was tire maker Michelin (Euronext: ML), which fell 6.07 percent to €93.56.

Other decliners included hotels operator Accor (Euronext: AC), which was 4.75 percent lower to €62.95.

Construction group Vinci (Euronext: DG) was down 4.93 percent to €52.60, while drinks maker Pernod-Ricard (Euronext: RI) dropped 5.18 percent to €152.59.

Equities markets in Europe were higher on Thursday, with the FTSE Eurofirst 300 rising 0.92 percent to 1,617.76.

The IBEX added 0.99 percent to 15,207.3 in Madrid, while the Paris CAC-40 gained 1.16 percent to 6,065.5 and the Dax was 1.24 percent higher in Frankfurt to 7,991.21.

The best performer on the Dax on the session was software group SAP (FWB: SAP; NYSE: SAP), which gained 6.06 percent to €40.14 after it reported that software licensing sales were up 18 percent in the second quarter.

IT Services company Cap Gemini (Euronext: CAP) had the best day in Paris, adding 3.95 percent to €57.11.

Other gainers on the session included STMicroelectronics (Euronext: STM; NYSE: STM), which was 2.14 percent higher to €14.34 and builder Vinci (Euronext: DG), which was up 2.13 percent to €57.19.
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Engineering group Siemens (FWB: SIE; NYSE: SI) gained 2.85 percent to €108.35, while in the steel sector ThyssenKrupp (FWB: TKA; LSE: THK) added 1.7 percent to €44.34.

The automobile manufacturing sector was mixed, with Peugeot (Euronext: UG; OTC: PEUGY) up 2.29 percent to €63.10 but BMW (FWB: BMW) down 0.08 percent to €38.94.

There were only two decliners on the CAC-40.

Drinks maker Pernod-Ricard (Euronext: RI) dropped 0.04 percent to €164.53, while utility EDF (Euronext: EEN) fell 0.63 percent to €77.02.

European equities were lower on Wednesday, in some cases significantly lower on the session.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 1.09 percent to 1,605.06.

In Madrid, the IBEX fell 0.63 percent to 15,058.6, while the Paris CAC-40 was 1.69 percent lower to 5,995.97 and the Dax dropped 1.8 percent to 7,893.61 in Frankfurt.

Carmakers were the worst performers both on the Dax and in Paris.

In Frankfurt, DaimlerChrysler (FWB: DCX; NYSE: DCX; TYO: 7663) dropped 3.09 percent to €66.51 for the worst performance on the Dax, with BMW (FWB: BMW) right behind it for the second worst of the day as it fell 2.54 percent to €39.07.

Meanwhile in Paris, Peugeot (Euronext: UG; OTC: PEUGY) was the biggest loser, dropping 3.05 percent to €61.69.

Renault (Euronext: RNO) was also lower, falling 2.8 percent to €112.50.

The carmakers were hurt by the strength of the euro, which makes exports more expensive.

Also seeing declines were hotels operator Accor (Euronext: AC), which was 2.95 percent lower to €68.10 after it reported low growth in the US.

Industrial gases group Linde (FWB: LIN) was down 2.48 percent to €87.28, while pharmaceuticals giant Bayer (FWB: BAY; NYSE: BAY; TYO: 4863) dropped 2.18 percent to €55.77.

On the other hand, Schering (FWB: SCH) was 0.08 percent higher to €104.27 as the only gainer on the Dax for the day.

There were only two gainers on the day in Paris.

Property group Unibail (Euronext: UL) was up 0.41 percent to €187.25, while drinks group Pernod-Ricard (Euronext: RI) had the best performance of the day on the 40, adding 0.59 percent to €164.59.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 ended the week 0.5 percent lower than it began, closing at 1,512.70 on Friday. The declines came after posting a six-year closing high on Wednesday.

This is not to say that there were not individual gains on the week. Mobile phone manufacturer Nokia added 7.4 percent on the week to €16.65 on a significant rise in operating profits in 2006. Deutsche Bank upgraded the company to “buy” and raised its target share price to €18.50.

L’Oreal was 7 percent higher to €80.60 after sales were higher than had been expected in the fourth quarter.

Pernod-Ricard gained 7.7 percent during the week to €158 even though broker comments were mixed. Credit Suisse upgraded the drinks company from “under perform” to “neutral” and raised its revenue growth guidance and target share price. UBS, Morgan Stanley, and ING also upped Pernod’s target share price, but ING also reduced its recommendation from “buy” to “hold”, citing valuation concerns.

Among the losers this week was software company SAP, which dropped 5.8 percent to €35.62. Alcatel-Lucent was 10.8 percent lower to €9.99. Airlines also saw losses, with Lufthansa down 6.9 percent to €21.16 and Air France-KLM 7 percent lower to €32.19.

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.