The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.1 percent Wednesday to close at 1,502.83 as a strong opening in New York helped overcome earlier declines due to profit taking.

The mining and oil sectors were mixed as base metals prices dropped and broker sentiment on oil was negative. Norsk Hydro, which has aluminium as well as oil interests, dropped 3.2 percent to NKr188.50. Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch reduced its rating on the oil sector as a whole to “underweight” on the basis of falling refining margins. Italian refiner Saras fell 0.8 percent to €4.05, while Neste Oil was 1.8 percent lower to €22.71. On the other hand, Hellenic Petroleum added 5.2 percent to €11.10 after a consortium it participates in found natural gas in Libya.

Steelmakers were hurt by a sector downgrade from Credit Suisse, which reduced its recommendation from “market weight” to “underweight”. ThyssenKrupp dropped 2 percent to €35.96, while Salzgitter fell 2.3 percent to €99.31 and Mittal Steel was 4 percent lower to €31.55.

The banking sector was higher on the session. UBS added 2.5 percent to SFr75.90. Greek banks Alpha Bank and EFG Eurobank both saw gains as well, with Alpha up 2.6 percent to €23.90 and EFG 2.9 percent higher to €28.70.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.6 percent lower on Tuesday to 1,477.94 as the oil and steel sectors declined on lower prices for commodities.

In the steel sector, ThyssenKrupp dropped 1 percent to €33.27 even though UBS hiked its target share price when the broker left its recommendation at “neutral”. Salzgitter was also lower, falling 3.8 percent to €96.59 after Credit Suisse reduced its recommendation from “outperform” to “neutral”.

Oil companies were also on the losing end for the session. After a gain of 20 percent on Monday, Norsk Hydro dropped 0.7 percent to NKr187.25. The decline came after Dresdner Kleinwort said that the Monday gains, coming after the announcement of a merger between Norsk Hydro and Statoil, were out of proportion. The broker cut its recommendation on Norsk Hydro to “sell”. Statoil was down 3.1 percent on the session, to NKr164.75, even though JP Morgan said that the merger makes sense for the oil company.

Elsewhere in the oil sector, declines came after Monday’s drop in crude oil prices. Total was 0.9 percent lower to €54.50 as OMV dropped 1.2 percent to €43.33.

In the telecommunications sector, Swisscom added 1.1 percent to SFr457.25 after it said that it will buy back a 25 percent share of Swisscom Mobile from UK company Vodafone. The news spurred Citigroup to hike Swisscom’s target share price from SFr430 to SFr452.50. Meanwhile, hopes of continued privatization sent Hellenic Telecom 1.9 percent higher to €23.72.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up on Monday on gains in the steel sector as it seemed that there could be a bidding war for Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus that could translate into wider consolidation in the sector. The Eurofirst was up 0.6 percent to 1,457.09.

The steel sector was not the only one that gained on bids and rumors of bids, however. Among stock exchanges, Deutsche Borse was 3.1 percent higher to €137.10 on a meager hope that Euronext’s tie-up with NYSE Group might not be as firmly settled as had been thought, making room for a bid from the German exchange operator. Euronext added 2.9 percent on the session ahead of a December 19 vote by shareholders on the merger with NYSE.

Bids rumors also helped Continental after General Capital Group would not rule out another bid after a failed attempt to buy the German tire maker earlier in the year. Continental was up 2.6 percent to €89. 69.

With prospects shaping up for a bidding war between CSN of Brazil and Tata of India, Corus added 5.4 percent to €7.80 as analysts said that while the Tata bid is more favorable from an employee point of view, Corus is obligated to act in the interests of its shareholders, who would benefit more from acceptance of the CSN bid. CSN is currently offering 515p per share, while Tata’s bid stands at 500p per share, raised on Sunday from a previous 455p bid. In Mumbai, Tata dropped 6 percent on the increased bid.

Elsewhere in the sector, ThyssenKrupp gained 1.5 percent to €32.13 after its target share price was revised upward by Goldman Sachs. Salzgitter was 1.6 percent higher to €97.22, Mittal Steel added 2.5 percent to €32.80, and Acerinox of Spain was up 2.7 percent to €21.77.

Mergers and acquisitions news continued to drive the European equities markets on Thursday as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 saw its highest closing level since mid-2001 and indices in Spain and Switzerland hit all-time highs. The Eurofirst added 0.6 percent to 1,410.11.

MAN was down again, dropping 3.6 percent to €66 as the fallout of Volkswagen’s purchase of 15 percent of the German truckmaker’s shares Wednesday continued. Analyst opinion is that VW made the purchase to protect its own truck unit and its investment in Scania, in which it is the largest shareholder. MAN made a bid for Scania last month. Scania’s B shares added 0.8 percent on the session to SKr465.50, while VW gained 1.2 percent to €69.65.

Low-cost air carrier Ryanair dropped 0.8 percent to €8.63 after it said it has purchased 16 percent of Aer Lingus and intends to bid for the remaining shares in the Irish airline. With Aer Lingus saying that they reject the bid and analysts saying that there is not much chance of the bid effort succeeding Aer Lingus, which only began trading publicly on Monday, added 15.5 percent to €2.90.

The steel sector saw advances on the day after Tata Steel of India said it was considering a bid for Corus. This follows Mittal Steel’s acquisition of Arcelor earlier in the year. Corus added 15.8 percent to €7.03 on the talk, and other steel makers gained on the possibility of further consolidation within the sector. Arcelor Mittal gained 3 percent to €27.70, while Salzgitter advanced 3.2 percent to €77.82 and ThyssenKrupp was 3.6 percent higher to €27.18.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 2.4 percent this week to 1,313.62, for its best week since January, but it was down by 4.1 percent in the second quarter of 2006. The 300 has added 3 percent since the beginning of the year, but it will need to make up a lot of ground if it is to match its 2005 full-year gain of over 20 percent.

The steel sector saw gains on the week after Arcelor rejected a bid from Severstal, which was seen leaving room for an already-arranged merger with Mittal Steel. Arcelor added 7.8 percent during the week to €37.74. Elsewhere in the sector, ThyseenKrupp gained 3.8 percent to €26.77, while Salzgitter was up 6.9 percent to €66.37. Voestalpine advanced by 7.3 percent to €117.60.

European tiremakers saw declines after Japanese tiremaker Bridgestone of Japan cut its profits estimate for the year. Michelin was down 1.3 percent on the week to €47, while Continental fell 1.6 percent to €79.92.

Danish shipper AP Moller-Maersk declined by 5.2 percent to DKr45,400 on a reduced profits forecast for the year due to sub-par performance in its container shipping unit.

Bayer added 4.5 percent on Friday and 8.4 percent on the week to €35.94 after it said that it will sell part of its diagnostics unit to Siemens, which added 0.8 percent on the day Friday and 0.2 percent during the week to €68.03. Several banks either upgraded or reiterated their positive recommendations for Bayer during the week.

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.

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.

With markets in the UK and the US closed for holidays, European equities markets declined on very low volumes of trade on Monday. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.1 percent to 1,322.45.

The decline came even though the steel sector was mostly higher amid rumors of mergers and acquisitions after Arcelor said on Friday that it will merge with Severstal of Russia. Despite investor unhappiness with the move by Arcelor, the Luxembourg-based company added 3.9 percent on the day to €32.80 as Mittal Steel said it would proceed with its attempt to take over Arcelor. Mittal was up 5 percent on the day to €26.25. Only Severstal saw a decline, with its shares down 0.7 percent to Rbs376.90.

Elsewhere in the sector, the possibility of further mergers sent shares in Corus up 2.8 percent to €5.80 and Salzgitter gained 6.3 percent to €68.62.

The oil sector also saw gains on last week’s increase in the price of crude oil. Cespa was up 1.8 percent to €52.10 and Statoil added 2.8 percent to NKr185. Norsk Hydro, with interests in both oil and metals, gained 2.3 percent to NKr176 after it bought back 561,000 shares at NKr170.66 each.

Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche was up 0.9 percent to SFr190.70 after it released data showing that its drug Herceptin, in conjunction with hormone therapy, will stop progression of breast cancer and give longer life to some patients with the disease.

In Europe on Tuesday the FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 1 percent to 1,391.10 on gains in several sectors. Commodities prices that continue to rise have helped the oil and mining sectors, while strong earnings reports from other sectors have also contributed to the gains.

In the steel sector, Arcelor added 3.3 percent to €33.69 after its chief executive said that the company is worth much more than a proposed bid from rival Mittal Steel. Elsewhere, ThyssenKrupp gained 3.3 percent as well, to €26.98, and Salzgitter was up 5.1 percent to €66.10.

Among oil-related companies, oilfield services company Saipem added 2.8 percent to €20.45. Repsol, however, lost 0.6 percent to €23.53 after Bolivia took control of foreign-owned gas fields in that country. Repsol is the most heavily exposed European oil company in South America.

Utilities were up as well, with Suez up 3.5 percent to €32.29 and Gaz de France 1.5 percent higher to €66.92 after it was reported over the weekend that Suez expects twice the earlier estimated amount in annual synergies after the two complete their merger.

In the banking sector, Credit Suisse gained 1.3 percent to SFr78.90 after it said that first-quarter net income had risen by 36 percent, well above predictions. Its banking division saw net income increase by 44 percent. The report spurred WestLB to upgrade its shares to “add”.

Dutch food group Numico also issued a positive first-quarter report, with sales up 13.6 percent, in double digits in all three main divisions, and profit margins up to 19.2 percent. Numico gained 5.3 percent on the day to €37.82.

The European equities markets were down Wednesday, as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.2 percent to 1,315.77. This was despite more rumors of mergers as oil and mining stocks fell with Tuesday’s declines in commodities prices.

Salzgitter was down 4.6 percent to €54.49 as Australia’s biggest steel maker, BlueScope Steel, issued a profits warning. Copper producer Norddeutsche Affinerie lost 5.5 percent on the day to €24.42. Not everyone in the metals industry was down on the day, however, as speciality steel and tool maker Sandvik gained 4.8 percent to SKr407 after its fourth-quarter report showed an almost 35 percent gain in profits on strong demand.

In the oil sector, OMV was down 2.9 percent to €55.58, while Total dropped 2.4 percent to €215.90. The European oil sector as a whole fell 2.2 percent on the day.

The air transportation sector fared better, with Alitalia up 5.4 percent to €1.154. Even though Morgan Stanley said that the Italian air carrier will have to struggle to restructure, it nonetheless upgraded the airline to “overweight” and set a price target of €1.60. Meanwhile, Air France-KLM gained 3.1 percent. Morgan Stanley also upgraded that airline to “overweight”, saying that the market has underestimated revenue and cost synergy benefits when the French airline merged with KLM.

Other merger talk came in the telecommunications sector. Speculation over Portuguese conglomerate Sonae’s hostile bid for Portugal Telecom and takeover bid for PT Multimedia, 58 percent owned by PT, sent Sonae up 0.8 percent to €1.23. PT gained 0.1 percent to €9.70, and PT Multimedia gained 0.3 percent to €9.93. If these deals are completed, analysts expect that France Telecom, which owns 23.7 percent to Sonaecom, Sonae’s telecommunications arm, will be affected. France Telecom rose 1.3 percent on the day to €18.35.