European markets were higher on the session Wednesday.

The Eurofirst 300 gained 1.57 percent to 1,505.51.

In Madrid the IBEX added 0.84 percent to 14,359.2, while the Dax was 1.02 percent higher to 7,500.48 in Frankfurt and the Paris CAC-40 was up 1.83 percent to 4,418.17 and had no losers on the day.

The biggest gainer on the day in Paris was construction group Vinci (Euronext: DG), which added 6.41 percent to €51.

Buoygues (Euronext: EN), which has interests in both construction and media, gained 4.05 percent to €53.93.

The steel sector was also higher.

ThyssenKrupp (FWB: TKA; LSE: THK) was 2.14 percent higher to €41.92, while Mittal Steel (Euronext: MT; NYSE: MT) was up 4.98 percent to €44.45.

In addition Vallourec (Euronext: VK), which manufactures steel products, was up 4.47 percent to €190.71.

In the semiconductors sector Infineon (FWB: IFX; NYSE: IFX) gained 2.76 percent to €11.17 on the news that it is looking to buy.

Among airlines, Lufthansa (FWB: LHA) added 2.29 percent to €20.64, while Air France (Euronext: AF; NYSE: AKH) was up 3.82 percent to €29.38.

Fresenius Medical Care (FWB: FREG) was the biggest decliner on the Dax, dropping 1.89 percent to €34.85.

Other decliners included utility RWE (FWB: RWE), which fell 0.44 percent to €80.65.

Software maker SAP (FWB: SAP; NYSE: SAP) was 0.21 percent lower to €38.71.

Markets were also substantially lower in Europe on Thursday.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 3.21 percent lower to 1,443.89.

The Dax dropped 2.36 percent to 7,270.07 in Frankfurt and the CAC-40 was down 3.26 percent to 5,265.47 in Paris.

In Madrid, the IBEX fell 3.68 percent to 13,986.4.

There were no winners on either the CAC-40 or the Dax on the session.

The biggest loser on the Dax was stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse (FWB: DB1), which was 6.57 percent lower to €75.13, while the worst performance on the CAC-40 came from steel tubes manufacturer Vallourec (Euronext: VK) at 7.93 percent lower to €171.85.

Car and truck makers fell substantially.

BMW (FWB: BMW) dropped 4.23 percent to €34.99, while Renault (Euronext: RNO) was 4.42 percent lower to €91.20 and truck maker Man (FWB: EDF1) declined 6.38 percent to €96.07.

Builders and construction materials providers dropped in France.

Bouygues (Euronext: EN), which has holdings in both the construction sector and in media, was 4.36 percent lower to €50.88, while construction group Vinci (Eurnoext: DG) fell 4.48 percent to €46.70 and construction materials group Lafarge (Euronext: LG; NYSE: LR) dropped 5.09 percent to €108.43.

Property group Unibail (Euronext: UL) was down 5.9 percent to €161.50, while financial planners MLP (FWB: MLP) was down 4.17 percent to €11.50.

Among banks, Deutsche Bank (FWB: DBK; NYSE: DB) fell 1.9 percent to €91.65 and BNP Paribas (Euronext: BNP; TYO: 8665) dropped 3.1 percent to €74.67.

European markets also headed lower again Wednesday after Tuesday’s gains.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 1.54 percent to 1,526.07.

In Frankfurt the Dax was 1.45 percent lower to 7,473.93, while the IBEX fell 1.46 percent to 14, 586.1 in Madrid and the Paris CAC-40 was down 1.68 percent to 5,654.3.

Volkswagen (FWB: VOW; OTC: VLKAY) had the best day on the Dax, where it added 1.12 percent to €134.

On the other hand, BMW (FWB: BMW) dropped 5.06 percent to €35.34.

Other gainers in Frankfurt included industrial gases group Linde (FWB: LIN) was up 0.97 percent to €87.60, while in Paris Air Liquide (Euronext: AI) dropped 2.61 percent to €93.21.

Lufthansa (FWB: LHA) added 0.73 percent to €20.83 and retailer Metro (FWB: MEO) was 0.65 percent higher to €57.56.

There were only two gainers on the CAC-40, both related to the steel sector.

Steel products manufacturer Vallourec (Euronext: VK) added 1.57 percent to €196.12, while Mittal Steel had the best day in Paris as it gained 2.21 percent to €46.74.

The utilities sector was lower, with Gaz de France (Euronext: GAZ) 2.47 percent lower to €33.50 and Suez (Euronext: SZE; NYSE: SZE) down 2.57 percent to €37.97.

Hotels operator Accor (Euronext: AC) fell 2.73 percent to €61.57, while in the pharmaceuticals sector Sanofi (Euronext: SAN; NYSE: SNY) was down 3.35 percent to €59.44.

Conglomerate Bouygues (Euronext: EN), with interests in media, construction and telecommunications, was the worst performer on the CAC-40, dropping 4.13 percent to €56.70.

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 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 0.3 percent lower on Thursday, closing at 1,499.03 on declines in the oil and steel sectors. The decline came even though the telecommunications and airlines sectors were up on the session.

Among telecoms, fixed-line carriers added 1.7 percent. France Telecom added 1.4 percent to €21.68, while KPN gained 3.2 percent to €11.26 and Hellenic Telecom was 3.5 percent higher to €24. Meanwhile, mobile carrier Cosmote added 3.3 percent to €22.98.

Airlines were helped by declines in crude oil prices as investors hoped that fuel prices would also go down. Air France-KLM added 1.2 percent to €33.12. Lufthansa was helped when Dresdner Kleinwort raised its target share price from €21.60 to €26 and repeated its “buy” recommendation on the air carrier. The positive comments came after Lufthansa sold its 50 percent stake in Thomas Cook, the travel agency. Lufthansa was 2.1 percent higher to €21.96. Ryanair gained 3.6 percent to €10.80 after it said that while its aircraft were slightly less full on average last year, it carried 19 percent more passengers.

In the oil sector, Total dropped 2 percent to €53.45, while Neste Oil fell 3 percent to €22.04 and Statoil was 3.7 percent lower to NKr157.25.

Steelmakers continued to suffer from a sector downgrade issued by Credit Suisse on Wednesday. Mittal Steel dropped 2.8 percent to €30.65, ThyssenKrupp was 3.4 percent lower to €34.73, and Vallourec fell 4.7 percent to €208.40.