Down early in the day, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 managed to recover to close 0.9 percent higher to 1,355.41 on a slow day when some European markets were closed for the Assumption Day holiday.

Stocks in technology sectors benefited from comments issued by Morgan Stanley. Among software companies, SAP added 2.7 percent to €143.08. STMicroelectronics was 4.1 percent higher to €12.29, while in the telecommunications equipment sector Ericsson gained 4.2 percent to SKr22.60.

The pharmaceuticals sector was up on the day. Novartis was up by 1 percent to SFr69.95 even though its Sandoz generics division could be a target of a lawsuit by Sanofi-Aventis over unauthorized manufacture of generic copies of Plavix. The gain for Novartis came on a reconfirmation of Dresdner Kleinwort’s “buy” recommendation. Sanofi was also up, adding 2.5 percent to €70.30.

Among banks, UBS was 3.4 percent higher to SFr68.30 on a second quarter report that showed a 47 percent gain in net profits, well above what had been expected.

In the chemicals sector, Akzo Nobel added 4 percent to €44.35 on the news that it will ask shareholders to approve a spinoff of its pharmaceuticals unit and to make 30 percent of the new company available on Euronext in 2007.

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 was up just 0.1 percent to 1,399.35 on the day Monday as the oil sector was weak on declining crude oil prices but insurance companies and banks did well.

The oil sector was down 1.5 percent as a whole. Statoil dropped 3.1 percent to NKr20 not only on lower oil prices but on a quarterly earnings report that did not meet expectations even though its operating profits were up by a reported 44 percent. Norsk Hydro was down 3.2 percent to NKr940. OMV declined by 5.1 percent to €53.40 despite saying that it is in talks with Verbund, Austria’s biggest utility. Neste Oil was down 4 percent to €27.75. Oilfield services company Saipem was down 2.3 percent on the day to €20.16.

In the insurance sector, CNP Assurances was up 4.3 percent to €92.90 after last week’s upgrade from West LB. Axa, another French insurer, added 1.2 percent to €30.36 after Bear Stearns reiterated its “outperform” rating. Axa is expected to release its quarterly report on Thursday. Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch raised its target share price on Zurich Financial from SFr350 to SFr365, sending Zurich up 1.9 percent on the day to SFr315.

Credit Suisse was up 0.3 percent to SFr77.90, Deutsche Bank added 0.4 percent to €99.20, and UBS was up 1.1 percent to SFr150.60 in a day of advances in the banking sector. ABN Amro gained 1.7 percent to €23.39, while UniCredit was up 1.9 percent to €6.22. But the star performer of the day was Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena. On upgrades from Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley, the Italian bank gained 3.5 percent on the day to €4.8760. Credit Suisse upped its rating on the bank from “neutral” to “outperform” on what it called its “restructuring potential”. Morgan Stanley based its upgrade, from “underweight” to “equal weight” on good earnings coupled with cost cutting and reduced credit charges.

In Europe this week the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 1.5 percent to close on Friday at 1,398.71. Much of these advances were due to gains in companies that support mining and the oil industry. Banks were mixed, but saw some gains.

The banking sector produced some positive earnings reports over the week, but those were not enough in all cases for shares in the banks to advance. Credit Suisse, for example, lost 0.3 percent during the week to SFr77.65 even though it reported quarterly earnings higher than had been expected. UBS also reported results that were above what had been predicted, gaining 1.4 percent on the week to SFr149. Deutsche Bank was up 1.5 percent this week to €98.80 despite a decline Wednesday when investors questioned whether the growth shown in its quarterly report could be sustained over the long term.

In companies related to the oil industry, Italian oilfield services company Saipem added 4.3 percent this week to €20.68. Dutch oilfield services company SBM Offshore, meanwhile, was up 4.5 percent to €88.90 on new contracts worth $750 million.

Among companies that support the mining sector, tool and machinery maker Sandvik gained 8.4 percent during the week to SKr217.50. Sandvik reported quarterly results above predictions on Tuesday, which spurred positive comments from JP Morgan and from Handelsbanken, which raised its target share price on the company from SKr490 to SKr535. Sandvik’s rival, Atlas Copco, also reported good quarterly figures and added 8.2 percent over the week to SKr217.50.

In the telecommunications sector, Norwegian company Telnor was up 12.2 percent on the week to NKr80.25 on a 55 percent gain in core earnings and upgrades from several banks.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.4 percent on Thursday to close at 1,385.29, mainly on a new crop of positive quarterly earnings reports.

Chemicals company BASF added 2.4 percent to €69.01 on the day on a quarterly report that was much better than had been anticipated and on an upped forecast for the year as a whole. Gains in its oil and gas unit more than overcame higher costs for raw materials in its chemicals division, according to a WestLB analyst.

In the utilities sector, Suez said it had an increase of 14.3 percent in sales in the first quarter and also upped its estimate of annual operational synergies on its planned merger with Gaz de France by 10 percent. The news, and an upgrade from WestLB to “buy” from “hold”, sent shares in Suez up 2.6 percent to €32.75. WestLB also raised its target share price for Suez from €33 to €34.

Norwegian telecommunications company Telnor added 9.7 percent to NKr79 on a report of a gain of 55 percent in first quarter core earnings and an increased outlook for profits in 2006.

Among oil companies, Total was up 1.7 percent on the day to €22.40 after comments from Deutsche Bank that its first-quarter earnings were “robust” and its shares were undervalued.

The banking sector was mixed, although UBS reported that net income in the quarter was 33 percent higher, at SFr3.5 billion, than it had been in the same period last year. Even so, the bank’s shares went as low as SFr141.30 before ending the day flat at SFr144.50. Meanwhile, Commerzbank dropped 1.6 percent to €31.22 after it released the details of its first-quarter results. It had released a summary of the report last week.

In Europe on Tuesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 1.2 percent to 1,367.27. Italian politics had more than a little to do with the day’s trade. Romano Prodi unseated Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi but only by a narrow margin that left it unclear how many reforms the new parliament would be able to enact.

The Italian banking sector was down significantly in the wake of the election results. Unicredito dropped 3.8 percent to €5.83, while Banche Popolari Unite lost 3.5 percent to €19.48 and Mediobanca was down 3.4 percent to €17.23. Elsewhere, Swiss bank UBS lost 1.7 percent to SFr144.10 after it said it would buy Piper Jaffray’s private client branch network, paying $500 million cash for the acquisition. The loss came even though analysts said the purchase was a good one for UBS.

Despite his loss in the Italian election, Silvio Berlusconi’s day wasn’t completely a loss. His Mediaset broadcasting company added 1.1 percent to €10.17 as analysts said its shares were trading at a discount. Bear Stearns reiterated its “outperform” rating and target share price, set at €12.

Shares in companies that must purchase fuel were down as crude oil prices again were up. Ryanair declined by 2 percent to €7.38, while Lufthansa dropped 3.2 percent to €14.33 even though it reported an 0.4 percent rise in traffic.

In the telecommunications sector, the largest maker of telecom equipment, Nokia, added 3.7 percent to €17.60 after it announced that first-quarter handset prices had gone up to €103, above its forecast of €99 or less. Before the report was released, Dresdner Kelinwort Wasserstein had reiterated its “sell” recommendation on the stock predicted a lower selling price for handsets and consequent limits to revenue growth in the quarter.

In Europe on Wednesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 1.04 percent to 1,205.39. In Germany, the Xetra Dax was down even more, falling 1.77 percent to 4,875.22.

Among the reasons for the declines were worries about a new hurricane threatening the United States.

The banking sector was one of the biggest decliners on the day, falling after a downgrade of the sector from “overweight” to “neutral” by JP Morgan.

UBS was down 0.8 percent to SFr109.10, Credit Suisse Group lost 1.4 percent to SFr57.25, and Deutsche Bank declined 2.6 percent to €74.90.

The reinsurance sector was down on reports of the strengthening of Hurricane Rita on the heels of losses incurred by Katrina. Munich Re lost 1.9 percent to €90, while Swiss Re fell 1.5 percent to SFr81.80.

The semiconductor sector also saw declines on the day, as Infineon lost 1.1 percent to €7.90 on a report that it was getting ready to spin off its DRAM memory chip unit, which has been incurring losses.

Elsewhere in the sector, STMicroelectronics fell by 2.7 percent to €13.93 and Dutch chipmaking equipment company ASML declined 3.3 percent to €13.39 on reports that chip equipment sales and billing were both down globally.