Despite a round of profit-taking on Wednesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was still 0.1 percent higher on the session to close at 1,425.39.

Banks were mixed on the day. Gainers include Italian banks Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI as well as Societe Generale. Intesa and Sanpaolo were both higher after Credit Agricole said that it would support the proposed merger between the two Italian banks. Intesa was 1.3 percent higher to €5.61, while Sanpaolo gained 1.4 percent to €17.91. Societe Generale added 2.5 percent to €129.60.

Credit Agricole itself, however, dropped 5.1 percent to €33.70 on the support announcement and after it said it was thinking about a rights issue worth €4 billion for the first part of next year in order to fund the purchase of 600 Intesa branches. Dresdner Kleinwort, UBS, and ABN Amro all issued downgrades on Agricole.

Other banks seeing declines on the session included Raiffeisen International, which fell 0.6 percent to €88, Erste Bank, down 1.7 percent to €51.09, and Natexis Banque Populaire, which dropped 4.1 percent to €225.

The telecommunications sector saw gains on the day. Ericsson B shares added 4.6 percent to SKr27.30 on the news that its joint venture in the manufacture of handsets with Sony produced double the best estimates of pre-tax profits in the third quarter. Telecom Italia was 4.3 percent higher to €2.33 on a report that a French-Polish financier has purchased shares in the company. Bids rumors sent Deutsche Telekom up 2.6 percent to €12.77.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.6 percent on Tuesday to 1,423.36, a new five-year high level, on strength in financial and banking sectors.

German non-life insurer Allianz added 2 percent to €143.32 on the expectation that the value of its investment in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will increase after that bank’s IPO in Hong Kong and Shanghai later in the month. Ras Holding, an Allianz subsidiary, was also higher, gaining 2.2 percent to €22.64.

Banks were mixed but mostly higher on the session. Spanish bank Banesto, which reported net profits up by 17.1 percent in nine months, still dropped 0.4 percent to €16.20 when the increase was not up to projections. However, Santander, which owns a majority of Banesto, added 2.2 percent to €13.18.

Meanwhile, in Italy, Banca Intesa gained 2.7 percent to €5.54 as it came close to an agreement to sell some of its branches to Credit Agricole as part of the terms required to complete its merger with Sanpaolo IMI, which added 2.4 percent on the session to €17.66.

Among Austrian banks, Erste Bank added 3.9 percent to €51.99 on positive comments from Bear Stearns and from Dresdner Kleinwort. Rival Raiffeisen International was 4.4 percent higher to €88.50.

In the transport equipment sector, MAN was down another 0.6 percent to €68.05, while Scania was 2.4 percent lower to SKr432.50. Volvo, meanwhile, was 3 percent higher to SKr445.

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.

European equities markets were down on Tuesday as investors continued to worry about the possibility of more hikes in interest rates and how such increases would impact global economic growth. The Eurofirst 300 was down 2.1 percent to 1,238,73. It has dropped 11.9 percent since it reached its peak for the year on May 9, and is nearly 3 percent lower than it was at the beginning of 2006. Contributing to the declines were losses in the oil and steel sectors.

In the steel sector, ThyssenKrupp was down 3.5 percent to €23.26, while Salzgitter dropped 5.9 percent to €55.75 and Rautaruukki fell 7.6 percent to €19.43. In the oil sector, Norsk Hydro was down 5.6 percent to NKr144.

Stock exchange operators were also down on the day. Deutsche Borse fell 5.3 percent to €94.41 after a report that it was getting ready to add to the cash portion of its offer for Euronext. Euronext, meanwhile, declined by 7.9 percent to €63.90 after shares in the New York Stock Exchange dropped for two straight sessions, sending the value of its offer in cash and shares for Euronext lower.

Among banks, Credit Agricole was down 3.2 percent to €26.77 after it made a bid for Greek bank Emporiki, which added 5.8 percent on the announcement of the offer. Elsewhere, Austrian bank Raiffeisen International declined by 5.7 percent to €58.10.

Despite declines during the week, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 closed out the week up by 1.2 percent to 1,322.02 thanks to strong rallies in the last two sessions of the week.

The oil sector saw strong gains during the week. OMV added 10.7 percent to €47.05 after it abandoned a merger with electric utility Verbund. Neste Oil was up 8.7 percent to €25.78, Statoil gained 6.5 percent to NKr180, and Norsk Hydro advanced by 6.2 percent to NKr172.

Banks were mixed. Natexis Banques Populaire gained 9.2 percent to €206 as it progressed toward its merger with Ixis. Raiffeisen International, however, ended the week down by 0.5 percent to €67.40 despite the fact that it gained about 15 percent in the final half of the week.

Stock exchanges were lower on the week. Deutsche Borse lost 6.3 percent to €103.80 as it looked like it would not merge with Euronext after all. Euronext, which expressed a preference for a bid by the New York Stock Exchange, dropped 7.2 percent to €69.25.

The steel sector also saw declines during the week. Arcelor was down by 5.1 percent to €33.05 after its announcement of a takeover of Severstal in Russia was perceived as a way to defeat a hostile bid by Mittal Steel. Mittal dropped 1.6 percent on the week to €25.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 saw gains on Tuesday after Monday’s substantial losses, with a rise of 2.4 percent to 1,302.02. The gains came as investors looked for good buys and commodity prices turned upward again.

In the oil sector, including oil companies and companies that service oilfield operations, gains were substantial. Statoil led the way among oil companies, adding 9.8 percent to NKr180. Norsk Hydro gained 8.8 percent to NKr167.50. Neste Oil was up 7.7 percent to €24.35, while OMV advanced by 7.5 percent to €42.99.

Among companies that service the oil industry, toolmaker Atlas Copco was up 11.5 percent on the day to SKr203.50. Its peer Sandvik saw a gain of 8.1 percent to SKr439.50. Italian company Saipem matched Atlas Copco’s 11.5 percent gain to close at €17.782, while Dutch company SBM Offshore, which builds oil production and storage platforms, added 6.9 percent to €81.60.

Banks with exposure to the emerging markets of Eastern Europe, which saw substantial declines earlier, were up significantly on the day. Raiffeisen was up 10.8 percent to €65.40, while Eurobank gained 7.7 percent to €22.84 and Alpha Bank advanced by 2.3 percent to €20.06.

Stock exchange Euronext was up 3.6 percent to €70 after it accepted an offer from the New York Stock Exchange, rejecting the offer from Deutsche Borse. Euronext said that it believed the NYSE offer was in the best interest of shareholders and that regulatory approval for the merger with the NYSE would go more smoothly than an attempt to merge with Deutsche Borse. The news did not hurt Deutsche Borse, which added 1.4 percent to €102.76.

In Europe on Monday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 2.7 percent to 1,271.45 as investors fled emerging markets and looked for safe places to put their money.

Banks were the big losers on the day, as were stock exchanges and the steel and oil sectors.

The price of crude oil was down, taking shares in oil companies along with it. OMV dropped 5.9 percent to €40, while Norway’s Statoil was down 3 percent to NKr164 and Total lost 2.5 percent to €49.85.

In the steel sector, Arcelor dropped 5.6 percent to €32.90 as it said it was looking at a new bid from Mittal Steel and that it has called a shareholder meeting to be held on June 21 for a vote on the bid. Mittal declined by 5.9 percent to €23.91.

Euronext lost 9.5 percent to €67.55 after the New York Stock Exchange offered a bid of $21 billion for the European stock exchange operator. Deutsche Borse, which has also been in talks with Euronext, was down 8.5 percent to €101.30 on the possibility that it might raise its bid.

The banking sector saw substantial declines on the day. Those banks with high exposure to emerging markets in Europe were down the most. Raiffeisen International dropped 9.3 percent to €60.85. Eurobank, in Greece, declined by 6.9 percent to €21.20, while Alpha Bank was down 3.3 percent to €20.02.

Investment banks also saw their shares lose value. UBS fell 4.2 percent to SFr133.40. Credit Suisse lost 3.7 percent to SFr68.15. Deutsche Bank was down 3.1 percent to €88.18.

Credit Agricole was down 3.7 percent on the day to €28.92 when it said that it was assessing Alliance & Leicester ahead of a possible bid. However, CA said that the assessment was in its first stages and did not mean that a bid would be forthcoming.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.4 percent on Thursday as crude oil prices rose again and the US stock markets were down.

Despite rising oil prices, the oil sector was mixed on the day. Statoil dropped 3.9 percent to NKr196 on the news that it had gone ex-dividend, so that new stock purchasers will not be eligible to receive a dividend this year. Spanish oil company Repsol was down 1.5 percent to €22.25 after it reported that net profits in the first quarter were up 7.5 percent, less than had been expected. The results were explained by falling refining margins that offset high prices. The rising price of crude oil sent shares in Neste Oil up 4.2 percent to €28.17, while Total gained 0.8 percent to €223.80.

In the telecommunications sector, Deutsche Telekom dropped 2.6 percent to €13.24 after lower than expected core earnings in the first quarter due to weakness in its mobile phone business in the UK.

Banks were mixed on the day. Raiffeisen International was up 5.2 percent to €78.10 on better than expected quarterly results. ING Group also had a better quarterly report than had been expected, with net profit up 3.3 percent, but after early gains its shares ended the day down by 0.2 percent to €33.09. Greek banks were down as well. Both Eurobank and Piraeus Bank reported net interest income that was lower than had been anticipated. As a result, Eurobank lost 4.8 percent on the day to €29.88 and Piraeus dropped 2.3 percent to €26.06.

In Europe on Wednesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.9 percent to 1,229.21.

The banking sector was responsible for 41 percent of the index’s advance. Insurers and automobile manufacturers also did well.

DaimlerChrysler gained 1.7 percent to €45.65 ahead of an expected announcement of 5,000 to 8,000 jobs to be cut. Helped by a stronger dollar, BMW was up 1.3 percent to €38.90, Peugeot rose by 2.7 percent to €57.40, and Renault added 3.2 percent to €79.65. Volkswagen was up 1.9 percent to €38.30. Bucking the sector trend, Porsche lost 3.6 percent on the day to €642.29 as investors were still not sure they liked the carmaker’s plan to buy 20 percent of VW.

In the insurance sector, Munich Re gained 1.7 percent to €94.71 as it announced its estimate of its loss burden related to both Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. Swiss reinsurer Converium gained 1.2 percent to SFr12.95, also after it released estimated hurricane-related losses. Allianz gained 4 percent to €111.40 on an upgrade of its rating from “hold” to “buy” by Deutsche Bank, which also upped the insurer’s price target from €115 to €127.

In the banking sector, Vienna-listed Raiffeisen International gained 7.6 percent to €53.52 on an initial “buy” rating from UBS. BNP Paribas received an upgrade from “in-line” to “outperform” from Goldman Sachs, gaining 2.4 percent to €62.60. BNP Paribas rival Societe Generale gained 1.7 percent to €94.80 after BNP’s chief executive said a merger between the two was not likely.

Elsewhere in the sector, Credit Agricole gained 3.4 percent to €24.45, Deutsche Bank added 2.6 percent to €77.85, and Commerzbank also rose 2.6 percent to €22.82.