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 0.9 percent lower on Thursday to 1,469.02 after going as high as 1,495.16 during the day. The declines came as most global markets were down for a third day in a row. The CAC 40 in Paris dropped 1.1 percent, as did the Xetra Dax in Frankfurt, to 5,458.40 and 6,640.24 respectively. Meanwhile, the RTS in Moscow dropped another 5.72 percent to 1,797.10.

Banks were mixed on the day. Alpha Bank (OTC: ALBKY) dropped 5.6 percent to €22 on a lowered target share price from Credit Suisse, which nonetheless reiterated its “outperform” rating on the Greek bank even though it found Alpha’s fourth-quarter report lacking. On the other hand, Erste Bank (WBAG: EBS; OTC EBKDY) added 0.6 percent to €56.50 on results that were better than had been anticipated. Swedbank (Stockholm Stock Exchange: SWED A) added 3.5 percent to SKr249 after losses the past two session.

In the telecommunications sector, Deutsche Telekom (NSYE: DT; LSE: DEU; TYO: 9496) dropped 3.8 percent to €13.04 on full-year net profits that were down by 43 percent. The German telecom also revised downward its core earnings prediction for 2007.

Software group SAP (FWB: SAP; NYSE: SAP) added 3.8 percent to €36.13 on rumors that private equity is interested in acquiring a major stake in the Germany company. Additionally, rumors continued to circulate that the software maker would mount a share buy-back. The company refused to comment.

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.

The European equities markets were higher on Wednesday, aided by gains in the banking and oil sectors. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 1 percent to 1,528, its highest closing level in six years.

In the oil sector, Statoil gained 1.6 percent to NKr163.50 on comments from UBS that outlined the upside of an announced merger with Norsk Hydro. The broker upgraded its recommendation on Statoil from “neutral” to “buy” and hiked its target share price from NKr166 to NKr185.

Banks saw gains in several nations. In Spain, JP Morgan issued upgrades for both BBVA and Santander. BBVA added 1.4 percent to €19.35 after its recommendation was raised from “neutral” to “overweight”, while Santander was 2.3 percent higher to €143.49 on an identical hike in its rating.

In Italy, Morgan Stanley upgraded both Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena and Capitalia from “underweight” to “equal weight”. Siena was up 0.7 percent to €4.9525 and Capitalia gained 2.3 percent to €7.02. Meanwhile, the broker added Banco Popolare di Verona e Novara to its model portfolio, sending the bank’s shares up 3.1 percent to €24.10.

Meanwhile, UniCredit’s announcement that it will buy out minority shareholders in German bank HVB Group and Bank Austria Creditanstalt send shares in both banks significantly higher. HVB gained 4.2 percent to €36.00, while Bank Austria was 4.7 percent higher to €131.50. UniCredit, which already owns 95 percent of both banks, was up 1.6 percent to €7.2050.

Among losers on the day was SAP. The software maker dropped 6.5 percent to €35.89 when it said that margins would be lower this year and failed to issue an outlook on license sales.

In Europe on Friday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.4 percent on the session and 1.6 percent on the week to close at 1,510.44. It was a new six-year high for the index.

Despite the gains, there were big losses for some. Software group SAP dropped 7.7 percent on the session to €39. The decline was blamed on new data showing that license sales were down. The report moved Goldman Sachs to take SAP off its “conviction buy” list and to reduce its target share price from €49 to €39. The decline, the largest for the software developer in over four years, led to a 4.5 percent decline over the week despite gains earlier in the week.

The oil sector was lower on the week after crude oil prices fell by more than 7 percent. Total was down 1 percent to €52.20, while OMV dropped 1.8 percent to €39.30 and Repsol YPF fell 3.1 percent to €25.22.

Another of the week’s losers was Carrefour. The French retailer dropped 5.5 percent on the session to €44.20 on broker downgrades after reports that sales were lower than had been anticipated in the fourth quarter. JP Morgan reduced its recommendation from “neutral” to “underweight” and Commerzbank lowered its rating from “buy” to “hold”. Both brokers also reduced Carrefour’s target share price.

Gainers included Deutsche Borse which added 7.7 percent to €148.75 during the week after it revelaed positive news from its Clearstream unit and as rumors circulated that it could merge with a US exchange operator.

The European equities markets were lower on Monday. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.1 percent to 1,484.28.

Despite the declines, there were some significant gains among individual stocks. Swiss reinsurer Converium added 8.8 percent to SFr18.65 after bids rumors and analyst opinion that it would be a good takeover target. Paris Re was said to be one possible interested party. Elsewhere among financial sectors, Swiss private bank EFG International was 0.9 percent higher to SFr42.90 after it said it will purchase PRS Group, a wealth manager based in Miami. EFG was also helped by positive comments from Bear Stearns.

In technology sectors, German software group SAP added 3.4 percent to €42.20 as ABN Amro issued a “buy” recommendation and investors expected good news when fourth-quarter sales data is released. Meanwhile, in the semiconductors sector, ST Microelectronics gained 2.8 percent to €14.53.

German industrial gases group Linde added 3.2 percent to €80.15 when it said it will sell a Polish business to a US company. Linde was also helped when Goldman Sachs European added the chems company to its conviction buy list.

Among losers on the session was EADS, which dropped 1.4 percent to €25.34. It received an order from Air Asia for 50 new planes, but the announcement came in too late to affect Monday’s trade.

In Europe on Wednesday the FTSE Eurofirst 300 came within two points of a five and a half year high as it closed up 1.1 percent to 1,487.89.

Technology sectors saw gains on the session. SAP, the software group, was 1.6 percent higher to €40.25. Meanwhile, in the semiconductors sector, ASML gained 2.7 percent to €18.66.

Lufthansa added 1 percent to €20.89 in the wake of an announcement last Friday that it will sell its 50 percent stake in Thomas Cooke. Dresdner Kleinwort called the sale a move “in the right direction”, reiterating its “buy” recommendation on the air carrier and increasing its target share price from €20 to €21.60.

Sacyr Vallehermoso was 2.2 percent higher to €47.02 although JP Morgan began coverage by rating the Spanish builder at “underweight” and setting a target share price of €36, citing concerns about the purchase of a 20 percent stake in oil company Repsol and what it called a “very high” purchase price for road concession operator Europistas.

The Norwegian oil sector was mixed in the aftermath of an announced merger between Statoil and Norsk Hydro. While Norsk Hydro added 1.6 percent to NKr191, Statoil dropped 0.9 percent to NKr162.50 even though S&P reiterated its “strong buy” recommendation.

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 lower on Monday, to 1,356.39, reversing last week’s trend of gains. Among the sectors showing declines were semiconductors, and carmakers, all of which are strongly export-oriented.

Oil stocks gained on the session, however, as crude oil prices were back on their way up. Neste Oil was 1.6 percent higher to €25.71, while Norsk Hydro was up 3 percent to NKr173 and Statoil added 3.2 percent to NKr177.

Among semiconductors, Phillips dropped 0.8 percent to €26.22, while STMicroelectronics and Infineon each fell 1.5 percent, to €12.59 and €8.68 respectively. In related stocks, software group SAP was 1.2 percent lower to €145.38.

The automobile manufacturing sector was also lower on the session. Volkswagen dropped 0.6 percent to €63.44. Renault, BMW, and DaimlerChrysler each were 0.9 percent lower, with Renault at €89.90, BMW at €39.79, and DaimlerChrysler to 41.06. The decline for DaimlerChrysler came after a German court ordered it to pay more in a shareholder dispute going back to the merger between Dailmer and Chrysler in 1998. Porsche fell 14 percent to €787.50.

Elsewhere, utilities Suez and Gaz de France were lower on speculation that their merger might yet not be completed. Gaz de France was 0.7 percent lower to €28.60, while Suez dropped 0.8 percent to €32.68.