European markets were higher on the session, more than making up Monday’s declines.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 1.71 percent to 1,507.29.

The Dax was up 1.12 percent to 7,457.9 in Frankfurt, while the Paris CAC-40 gained 1.72 percent to 5,478.94 and Madrid’s IBEX was 1.74 percent higher to 13,965.5.

The CAC-40 and the Dax each only saw two stocks decline on the day.

In Paris, Air France (Euronext: AF; NYSE: AKH) was 0.07 percent lower to €27.73, while Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext: ALU; NYSE: ALU; TYO: 6687) was the worst performer there with a decline of 0.54 percent to €7.30.

In Frankfurt, meanwhile, pharmaceuticals group Schering (FWB: SCH) dropped 0.09 percent to €104.46. Deutsche Post (FWB: DPW; LSE: DPO) had the worst day on the Dax as it fell 0.19 percent to €20.89.

The best performer on the Dax was stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse (FWB: DB1), which added 3.83 percent to €78.96.

Meanwhile power generator and manufacturer Alstom (Euronext: ALO) did the best on the CAC-40, where it gained 6.47 percent to €136.06.

Steel-related shares did well in Paris.

Mittal Steel (Euronext: MT; NYSE: MT) was 3.35 percent higher to €46.64, while steel products manufacturer Vallourec (Euronext: VK) was up 4.22 percent to €184.31.

Carmakers saw gains.

BMW (FWB: BMW) gained 2.14 percent to €35.62, while Renault (Euronext: RNO) added 3.43 percent to €92.80.

Chemicals group Altana (FWB: ALT; NYSE: AAA) was 2.15 percent higher to €17.60.

European markets were significantly lower on the session.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 2.29 percent to 1,492.66.

The IBEX dropped 2.29 percent to 13,873.4 in Madrid, while in Frankfurt the Dax was down 2.43 percent to 7,436.63 and the CAC-40 was 2.63 percent lower in Paris.

There were no gainers on the CAC-40 on the session, while property group Unibail (Euronext: UL) dropped 5.99 percent to €168.52 for the worst performance on that index.

There were only three winners on the Dax.

The best performer was Fresenius Medical Care (FWB: FREG) with a gain of 1.12 percent to €36.01.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Schering (FWB: SCH) was up 0.44 percent to €104.30, while software group SAP (FWB: SAP; NYSE: SAP) added 0.27 percent to €40.40.

The worst performer on the Dax was Commerzbank (FWB: CBK), which dropped 5.20 percent to €28.57.

In the Paris banking sector, Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) fell 3.91 percent to €113.90.

The car and truck manufacturing sector was lower on the session.

BMW (FWB: BMW) was down 3.64 percent to €35.49, while Renault (Euronext: RNO) dropped 4.28 percent to €90.47 and truck maker Man (FWB: EDF1) was 4.61 percent lower to €100.74.

Aerospace group EADS (Euronext: EAD; FWB: EAD) fell 4.49 percent to €20.23.

Schneider Electric was down 4.3 percent to €92.89. Construction materials group Lafarge (Euronext: LG; NYSE: LR) dropped 3.85 percent to €107.50.

Equities markets made significant gains in Europe on the session Wednesday.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 1.96 percent to 1,554.5.

In Frankfurt the Dax was up 1.23 percent to 7,605.94, while the Paris CAC-40 gained 2.29 percent to 5,749.29 and the IBEX was 2.4 percent higher to 15,004.2 in Madrid.

Chipmakers saw gains after mobile phone manufacturer Nokia (OMX: NOK1V; NYSE: NOK; FWB: NOA3) said it would partner more closely with 4 companies to design the chips it uses in its phones.

Infineon (FWB: IFX; NYSE: IFX) added 1.7 percent to €11.29, while STMicroelectronics (Euronext: STM; NYSE: STM) was 5.7 percent higher to €12.99 on the news.

Insurers were also higher, with Allianz (FWB: ALV; NYSE: AZ) up 2.13 percent to €161.16 and Axa (Euronext: CS; NSYE: AXA) gaining 3.58 percent to €30.07.

Airlines were lower as Lufthansa (FWB: LHA) dropped 2.54 percent to €20.73 and Air France, the worst performer on the CAC-40, fell 3.36 percent to €32.22.

Car and truck makers also saw declines.

Man (FWB: EDF1) was 0.08 percent lower to €102.86, while Peugeot (Euronext: UG; OTC: PEUGY) dropped 0.92 percent to 61.43 and Volkswagen (FWB: VOW; OTC: VLKAY) was down 1 percent to €139.63 after Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) removed it from its “conviction buy” list.

The pharmaceuticals sector was mixed, with Bayer (FWB: BAY; NYSE: BAY; TYO: 48.63) adding 5.8 percent to €54.25 after Goldman Sachs reiterated the drug maker’s position on its “conviction buy” list.

Meanwhile, Schering (FWB: SCH) dropped 0.52 percent to €104.03.

Chemicals company Atlanta (FWB: ALT; NYSE: AAA) was the worst performer on the Dax as it dropped 2.98 percent to €16.31, while commercial property investment group Unibail (Euronext: UL) had the best day on the CAC-40 with a gain of 7.22 percent to €180.02.

European markets were higher Tuesday.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 1.33 percent to 1,523.87.

In Frankfurt, the Dax was up 0.93 percent to 7,513.66, while the IBEX added 1.53 percent to 14,652.9 and the CAC-40 was 1.58 percent higher to 5,620.

Banks and insurers were both higher.

Insurer Axa (Euronext: CS; NYSE: AXA) was the best performer on the CAC-40 as it added 3.94 percent to €29.03, while in Frankfurt Allianz (FWB: ALV; NYSE: AZ) was 2.2 percent higher to €158.19.

In the banking sector, Commerzbank (FWB: CBK) led the way on the Dax with a gain of 5.32 percent to €31.11, followed by Deutsche Bank (FWB: DBK; NYSE: DB), which added 3.95 percent to €101.35.

Among French banks, Societe General (Euronext: GLE) was 3.17 percent higher to €132.32, while BNP Paribas (Euronext: BNP; TYO: 8665) gained 3.78 percent to €82.97 and Credit Agricole (Euronext: ACA) added 3.88 percent to €28.13.

The automobile and truck manufacturing sectors were mixed.

BMW (FWB: BMW) was 1.97 percent higher to €36.15, but Renault (Euronext: RNO) dropped 1.06 percent to €99.89 and Man (FWB: EDF1) fell 2.12 percent to €103.02 for the worst performance of the session on the Dax.

Tire manufacturer Michelin (Euronext: ML) had the worst day on the CAC-40 as it dropped 2.07 percent to €86.45 after it said it plans to spend $350 million to improve US production.

The semiconductors sector was lower as STMicroelectroncis (Euronext: STM; NYSE: STM) was 0.41 percent lower to €12.29 and Infineon (FWB: IFX; NYSE: IFX) fell 1.77 percent to €11.11.

Drug makers were also lower.

Schering (FWB: SCH) was 0.58 percent lower to €104.44, while Bayer (FWB: BAY; NYSE: BAY; TYO: 4863) dropped 1.93 percent to €51.22.

European markets saw big losses on the session Friday as investors worried about problems in the US housing sector.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 1.16 percent to 1,599.63. In Frankfurt the Dax was 1.46 percent lower to 7,874.85, while the CAC-40 fell 1.79 percent to 5,957.16 in Paris.

Madrid’s IBEX dropped 1.82 percent to 14,930.1.

The Dax and the CAC-40 each had only two gainers on the session.

The best performer on the Dax was in the pharmaceuticals sector, where Schering (FWB: SCH) added 0.28 percent to €104.83.

The other gainer there was Volkswagen (FWB: VOW; OTC: VLKAY), which gained 0.21 percent to €121.79.

In Paris, meanwhile, the automobile manufacturing sector had the biggest winner of the day as Peugeot (Euronext: UG; OTC: PEUGY) was up 1.36 percent to €63.96.

Carmakers remained mixed, however, as DaimlerChrysler (FWB: DCX; NYSE: DCX; TYO: 7663) fell 2.47 percent to €65.16.

As on the Dax, the other gainer of the day on the CAC-40 was in the pharmaceuticals sector.

Sanofi (Euronext: SAN; NSYE: SNY) was 0.32 percent higher to €62.46.

The worst performance came from steel good manufacturer Vallourec (Euronext: VK), which was 4.89 percent lower to €216.18 on the news that it will sell two firms to Arcelor-Mittal (Euronext: MT; NYSE: MT).

The construction sector in Paris was lower, with Vinci (Euronext: DG) down 2.48 percent to €55.77 and Lafarge (Euronext: LG) falling 3.64 percent to €126.75.

Banks also declined.

Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) was 2.29 percent lower to €135.54, while Commerzbank (FWB: CBK) was down 2.77 percent to €33.73 on concerns about the US housing market and BNP Paribas (Euronext: BNP; TYO: 8665) dropped 2.99 percent to €84.24.

In the oil sector, Total (Euronext: FP; NSYE: TOT) fell 2.73 percent to €59.47.

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.

European markets were mostly lower Tuesday, with the notable exception of Madrid’s IBEX, which added 0.29 percent to 15,153.8.

In Paris, the CAC-40 dropped 0.43 percent to 6,099.21, while the Dax was 0.83 percent lower in Frankfurt to close at 8,038.21.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.49 percent to 1,622.34.

Vallourec (Euronext: VK) was the best performer on the CAC-40, adding 0.92 percent to €220.75 on rumors that Arcelor Mittal (Euronext: MT; NSYE: MT) might be interested in making a bid.

Other gainers on the day included foods group Groupe Danone (Euronext: BN; NYSE: DA), which was 0.56 percent higher to €57.08.

In the pharmaceuticals sector Schering (FWB: SCH) gained 0.34 percent to €104.60.

Chemicals group BASF (FWB: BAS; LSE: BFA; NYSE: BF) was up 0.23 percent to €99.46.

Utilities were mixed, with EDF (Euronext: EEN) 0.27 percent higher to €78.95, while Suez (Euronext: SZE; NYSE: SZE) dropped 1.11 percent to €41.16.

Banks were also mixed on the session.

In Paris Credit Agricole (Euronext: ACA) added 0.2 percent to €30.11 and Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) was 0.75 percent higher to €139.79, but in Frankfurt Commerzbank (FWB: CBK) fell 1.41 percent to €34.94.

Carmakers saw losses on the day.

Renault (Euronext: RNO) dropped 1.21 percent to €115.74 for the worst performance of the session in Paris, while BMW (FWB: BMW) fell 1.45 to €39.90 in Frankfurt.

BMW declined even though Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) raised the carmaker’s target share price.

In addition, truck maker Man (FWB: EDF1) was 1.49 percent lower to €110.10.

Other losers on the session included oil company Total (Euronext: FP; NYSE: TOT), which was down 1.09 percent to €61.62 on a broker downgrade from “buy” to “hold”.

Media group Lagardere (Euronext: MMB) fell 1.2 percent to €62.60.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down for the day on Friday as well as lower for the week as a whole. The 300 lost 0.6 percent on the day to 1,260.8, a loss of 1.2 percent during the week as investors seemed to ignore positive economic data.

In the telecommunications sector, Telefonica declined by 1.6 percent to €12.79, while TeliaSonera dropped 10.9 percent to SKr40.00 after it made public plans to enter the Spanish mobile phone market.

Aircraft manufacturer EADS lost 24.7 percent to €20.00 after it said it would lose €2 billion in profits in the next four years due to delays in delivery of the new Airbus A380 superjumbo jet. Further hurting the company, some executives had to admit mistakes in selling shares just weeks before the delays were made known to the public.

In the banking sector, Credit Agricole added 0.1 percent to €28.02 after offering for Greek bank Emporiki, which added 12.2 percent to €26.30 on news of the bid.

Pharmaceuticals were mixed. Bayer added 0.6 percent to €33.31 after it triumphed over Merck in a bidding battle for Schering and received an upgrade from “hold” to “add” from WestLB. Merck dropped 0.2 percent to €73.80, while Schering was up 3.4 percent to €89.14.

European equities did a bit better on Wednesday, despite new data on prices out of the US that only served to heighten worries that inflation is getting out of hand. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.1 percent by the end of the trading day to 1,240.15.

Banking and finance was mixed on mergers and acquisitions issues. After Credit Suisse said that it would sell its Winterthur insurance business to French insurer Axa, Credit Suisse gained 1.4 percent to SFr63.70 but Axa dropped 1.8 percent to €23.87. Meanwhile, Greek bank Emporiki added 1.8 percent to €25.24 as investors hoped for another bid after Greece’s finance minister made the comment that it should not be too quick to accept Credit Agricole’s bid. Agricole, meanwhile, was up 2.1 percent to €27.33.

The pharmaceuticals sector also saw maneuvering around bids issues. Bayer added 6.9 percent to €32.66 when competitor Merck took itself out of the bidding for German healthcare group Schering. Schering gained 2.1 percent to €89.00, while Merck was up 6 percent to €72.58 as investors anticipated a possible special dividend.

On the negative side of the ledger, airplane manufacturer EADS lost 26.3 percent to €18.73 after announcing that delays in deliveries of the Airbus A380 superjumbo jet would cost it €2 billion next year and that in view of the delays, it would allow buyers to walk away from orders they had already placed. In consequence, Deutsche Bank issued a downgrade on EADS from “buy” to “hold” and revised its target share price downward from €33 to €26. WestLB, on the other hand, upgraded the aircraft maker to “buy”.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 ended the week with a gain of 1.7 percent, to 1,276.32, but over the week it dropped 2.8 percent. Miners, oil companies, and other sectors connected to resources were responsible for much of the declines on the week.

The pharmaceuticals sector was mixed. Irish drugmaker Elan lost almost 17 percent during the week to €12.38 after the US Food and Drug Administration allowed them to return their multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri to the shelves, but only as a treatment of last resort after its sales were stopped earlier due to the deaths of some patients taking the drug. With the reintroduction, Elan said that it would increase the price of the drug. Drug companies with rival MS treatments saw gains, however. Schering added 1 percent to €86.25, while Serono was up 3.8 percent to SFr802. Also gaining during the week was Roche, which was up 1.5 percent to SFr194.20 after it announced encouraging test results on three different cancer drugs.

Telecommunications companies were mixed as well. Telecom Italia gained 0.9 percent to €2.24, Belgacom added 1 percent to €25.90, and Telefonica advanced by 1.4 percent to €13. But France Telecom declined by 2.3 percent to €17.29 after it said it would sell its 54 percent share of directory publisher PagesJaunes, which was up 2.5 percent this week to €22.89.

In oil related sectors, Austrian oil prodcuer OMV dropped 15.6 percent during the week to €39.75. Atlas Copco, the Swedish engineering company that works with oil producers, added 4.4 percent to SKr165.50 on Friday, but still declined by 10 percent over the week.