Profit-taking sent the European equities markets lower on Tuesday. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.3 percent to 1,462.69 as the telecommunications sector did well but banks saw losses.

The banking sector is still in the midst of mergers and acquisitions activity. In Italy, Banche Popolari Unite fell 2.7 percent to €20.29 and Banca Lombarda dropped 5.9 percent to €16.76 after Lombarda assented to an all-share offer from Unite worth €6.2 billion. The big decline for Lombarda came on ruined hopes of shareholders that there could be a cash bid from a foreign entity. One possible cash bidder mentioned was Santander of Spain, which dropped 0.1 percent on the session to €13.86.

Stock markets were lower, also on bids rumors. Deutsche Borse was 1.8 percent lower to €131 and Euronext dropped 3.8 percent to €89.80 on a report that Deutsche Borse could abandon its bid for Euronext. Deutsche Borse denied the report and said that its offer was still on the table.

In the telecommunications sector, Telefonica was up 1.2 percent to €15.60 after it said that operating revenues were up 43 percent in the first nine months of the year and upped its prediction for profits for the full year. Telekom Austria and Telenor each added 2.2 percent, to €19.83 and NKr105.25. The Austrian telecommunications operator reported that third quarter core profits were up 1 percent on growth in its international units and said that profit growth for the year will be at 30 percent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.2 percent over the week to 1,448.46 for its fifth week in a row of positive movement.

The automobile manufacturing sector was up on pleasing quarterly reports. Fiat added 0.3 percent over the week to €13.86, while Renault gained 1.3 percent to €90.90 and DaimlerChrysler was 4.5 percent higher to €43.27.

In a related sector, tire makers saw mixed results. While Michelin added 4 percent over the week to €64 on a quarterly report that was about where analysts expected it to be, Continental dropped 5 percent to €87.49 on negative comments from both Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank.

The pharmaceuticals sector was lower. Sanofi-Aventis was 2.2 percent lower for the week to €68.65 and Novo Nordisk declined 4 percent to DKr455. The sector was hurt by the announcement from AstraZeneca in the UK that trials of a new drug to treat stroke patients had not been successful.

On the other hand, the telecommunications sector saw gains during the week on quarterly results and bids rumors. The biggest winner was Telenor, which added 13.2 percent this week to NKr103 after its quarterly results brought positive comments and target share price increases from a number of brokers. France Telecom also did very well, gaining 8.8 percent to €20.56 as its third-quarter report earned it target share price increases from UBS and Citigroup.

There were gains elsewhere in the sector, with OTE of Greece being the exception. OTE dropped 0.2 percent to €19.80 on rumors that Telekom Austria could be looking to buy a share of the Greek telecom. Telekom Austria added 0.1 percent to €20.01. Telefonica gained 5.5 percent to €15.06 and Deutsche Telekom was 6 percent higher to €13.52.

Mergers and acquisitions activity drove the European markets again on Monday, with the FTSE Eurofirst 300 down, but only by 0.19 point to 1,396.26 after rising to 1,402.90 during the session.

In the retail sector, Ahold was 0.1 percent lower to €8.37 after early gains after it was reported that private equity could be interested in its US food service operations. The reports said that the Dutch retailer is thinking about either selling or floating its US business. It is also currently in discussions with Delhaize concerning a possible merger.

Politics were also a factor in at least some sectors. Telekom Austria dropped 7.8 percent to €18.35 on a downgrade from “buy” to “neutral” by UBS, which also lowered the telecom’s target share price from €23.80 to €21.40 in the wake of an apparent election win by the Social Democrats. Bear Stearns, however, did not change it’s “outperform” rating even though it acknowledged that the telecom could suffer weakness in the near future due to the election results.

Utilities remained in focus as M&A rumors continue in the sector. Endsea was 1.2 percent lower to €33.15, but Enel gained 0.2 percent to €7.21, Eon was up 0.3 percent to €93.76, and RWE added 1 percent to €73.50. In addition, Energias de Portugal advanced 2.6 percent to €3.51 although it denied reports that it was thinking of attempting a merger with Gas Natural, which added 1.3 percent to €29.12.

Indications from the United States of a slowing economy there affected European markets, sending the FTSE Eurofirst 300 0.6 percent lower to 1,353.26 on Wednesday.

Further news from the US in the form of a revenues warning from National Semiconductor, send the European semiconductors sector lower. ASML and Infineon each dropped 1.1 percent to €16.41 and €8.66 respectively. STMicroelectronics fell by 1.5 percent to €12.44.

In telecommunications related sectors, equipment makers were lower, as were most telecoms operators. The exception was Telekom Austria, which added 2.5 percent to €18.97. Deutsche Telekom dropped 0.6 percent to €11.50 after HSBC reaffirmed its “underweight” recommendation and dropped its target share price to €10.20, while France Telecom was 1 percent lower to €16.42. Among equipment makers, Nokia was down 2 percent to €16.45, while Ericsson dropped 2.2 percent to SKr22.70.

EADS fell 2.2 percent to €22.05 after rumors that the aerospace company was running behind by at least two years on the development of its Airbus A400M military transport. Recently, EADS was hurt by reports of delays on its A380 superjumbo passenger jet.

Among gainers on the day was Nestle, which added 2.3 percent to SFr417.75 after going as high as SFr419.50 during the day, a record high, after it reported better than expected first half results.

In Europe on Wednesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 1 percent to 1,306.63. Despite the gain, the index was down 5.2 percent for the month, the largest monthly decline in over two years. The day’s advance came on gains in the telecommunications and steel sectors.

Banks were mixed on the day. Capitalia and Banca Intesa were both up on renewed rumors of a merger between the two Italian banks. Capitalia added 3.6 percent to €6.4650 and Intesa gained 2.2 percent to €4.5180. National Bank of Greece was also up, adding 6.4 percent to €32.24 on a positive first-quarter earnings report. Belgian bank Dexia, however, was down 1.8 percent to €19.16 when it said that it will purchase 75 percent of Denizbank in Turkey now, and will offer for the remaining 25 percent of the bank when it gets the approval of regulators.

The telecommunications sector was up after having performed badly since the beginning of the year. Telekom Austria added 0.1 percent to €17.41 after Deutsche Bank raised its rating from “hold” to “buy”. OTE (Hellenic Telecom) was up 1.8 percent to €17.30 after a positive earnings report and on positive comments from Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, which reiterated its “buy” recommendation. Telefonica was up 2.4 percent to €12.77. Telenor gained 2.7 percent to NKr76.75 on the announcement that it has won a contract to provide automatic meter reading for a Nordic energy company.

Elsewhere in the sector, KPN was up 2.6 percent to €8.95, while Telecom Italia added 3.2 percent to €1.9910 and France Telecom gained 4.2 percent to €17.46.

In the steel sector, Corus added 2.2 percent to €5.70. While it reported that earnings in the first quarter were down from the same period last year, they were still better than had been expected. Arcelor, meanwhile, was up 1.4 percent to €33.30 even though shareholders are still in upheaval over its plans to merge with Russian company Severstal.

In Europe on Monday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.6 percent to 1,388.98, although the telecommunications and oil sectors saw gains on the day.

The oil sector was mixed even as crude oil prices continued to rise and ABN Amro began coverage of Norsk Hydro and OMV with “buy” recommendations for both companies. Norsk Hydro gained 1.8 percent to NKr987.50, but OMV dropped 1.8 percent to €56.10. Neste Oil, meanwhile, gained 2.3 percent to €29.55. Oil support group Saipem added 2.3 percent as well, to €21.10.

Deutsche Telekom was up 3.7 percent to €14.16 when private equity investor Blackstone purchased a 4.5 percent stake in the telecom from German state development bank KfW. Elsewhere in the sector, Telekom Austria added 1.3 percent to €19.17 and France Telecom was up 1.1 percent to €18.20 as the Blackstone purchase raised hopes of further consolidations in the sector.

Stock exchange Euronext was up 1 percent to €73.05, primarily on a report that the owner of the Dubai Stock Exchange is planning to bid on the European exchange.

In the steel sector, ThyssenKrupp gained 0.5 percent to €26.97 when it said it anticipates that sales in China and Hong Kong will double in the fiscal year and on an upgrade from HSBC from “neutral” to “overweight”. HSBC also raised the steelmaker’s target share price from to €31, up from €18.

Despite a 32 percent rise in earnings in the first quarter, Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis dropped 1.2 percent to SFr72.50 on the news that it plans to hire 1,000 new sales staff.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.2 percent to 1,364.88 on Wednesday as a result of profit-taking and the fallout of high commodity prices.

After the announcement that Nasdaq had acquired nearly 15 percent of the London Stock Exchange, mergers within the sector became a hot topic of conversation. Among the moves being rumored were a merger of the LSE and Euronext in order to stave off a possible hostile takeover of LSE by Nasdaq, with the Tuesday move only an opening gambit. Amid the rumors, Euronext added 1.7 percent to €67.35. Deutsche Borse also benefited from the talk, rising 1.5 percent to €112.48.

Talk of possible bids also had an effect on the construction and telecommunications sectors. In construction, Spanish group Sacyr-Vallehermoso and French company Eiffage both were down on the day after it was said that Sacyr might soon make a bid for Eiffage. Sacyr dropped 2.4 percent to €25.86, while Eiffage was down 1.1 percent to €121.80.

In the telecommunications sector, KPN was up and Belgacom was down slightly on reports that Belgacom might bid for KPN. Belgacom lost 0.1 percent to €27.81, while KPN added 1.6 percent to €9.67. Belgacom’s chief executive said that no bid for KPN was forthcoming, but the company has expressed an interest in buying Vodafone’s stake in Belgian operator Proximus. However, analysts believe that a move in that direction would find Belgacom in competition with companies such as Telekom Austria, which was down 0.9 percent on the day to €18.44.

Elsewhere in the telecommunications sector, Ericsson added 2.8 percent to €29.30 on an increased target share price, from SKr30 to SK4 32, from Lehman Brothers. Nokia dropped 1.2 percent to €17.38 on profit-taking and despite comments from Credit Suisse that Nokia’s valuation is attractive and its product portfolio was improving.

In Europe on Tuesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.5 percent to 1,364.9 on worries that both US and eurozone interest rates could be going up again soon. The likelihood that eurozone rates could go up again was increased by new data on German business confidence that was up more than had been expected.

The telecommunications sector was instrumental in the declines after the European Commission said it will cut international roaming charges on calls made from mobile phones. The plan could cut charges to consumers by as much as 60 percent. UK mobile company Vodafone was down 4 percent to 119½p. Spanish company Telifonica Moviles lost 0.8 percent to €10.74. TeliaSonera, listed in Stockholm, dropped 1.3 percent to SKr46.40.

There were also losses among fixed-line telecommunications companies. Hellenic Telecom dropped 3 percent to €17.80, Telekom Austria was down 2.5 percent to €19.42, and France Telecom declined by 1.5 percent to €18.71.

Among insurers, Alleanza of Italy was down 4.9 percent to €9.95 even though it said net profits would be up by 30 percent by 2008. Swiss Life dropped 4 percent to SFr266 as investors worried that most of its 44 percent profits in 2005 had been due to one-time income.

In the biotechnology sector, Swiss company Serono added 2 percent to SFr933 on rumors that a bid for the company would be forthcoming soon.