European markets saw declines on Wednesday.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.56 percent lower to 1,549.26.

In Frankfurt the Dax dropped 0.18 percent to 7,828.96 and in Paris the CAC-40 was down 0.53 percent to 5,674.67, while Madrid’s IBEX fell 1.29 percent to 15,231.3.

Banks were hurt by the report on Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) writedowns.

Deutsche Bank (FWB: DBK; NYSE: DB) was 0.7 percent lower to €87.24, while BNP Paribas (Euronext: BNP; TYO: 8665) was down 1.4 percent to €73.45 and Dexia (Euronext: DEXB) dropped 1.51 percent to €21.48.

Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) fell 1.78 percent to €111.82, UBS (SWX: USBN; NYSE: UBS; TYO: 8657) was 1.8 percent lower to SFr62.65, and Commerzbank (FWB: CBK) was down 2.76 percent to €28.38.

Truck makers were mixed.

Man (FWB: EDF1) dropped 1.69 percent to €120.43, while Volvo (OMXS: VOLV A, VOLV B; NAS: VOLV) added 5.2 percent to kr122 on a higher production estimate.

Carmakers were higher, with Volkswagen (FWB: VOW; OTC: VLKAY) adding 1.66 percent to €172.62 after a change in the law made it more likely that Porsche (FWB: POR3) will make a full-on takeover bid.

Peugeot (Euronext: UG; OTC: PEUGY) was up 0.11 percent to €56.54.

Utilities were up in Frankfurt.

Eon (FWB: EOA; NYSE: EON; LSE: EON) was 1.34 percent higher to €133.03, while RWE (FWB: RWE) gained 1.62 percent to €94.64.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 1.6 percent this week to close at 1,537.65 as earnings reports continued to be issued and mergers news was in focus.

The energy sector reacted to Gas Natural’s withdrawal from the bidding for Endsea, leaving Eon with the only offer on the table for the Spanish energy company. Gas Natural dropped 0.9 percent on the week to €30.85 while Eon, which was due to deliver its sealed bid to the Spanish stock market regulator on Friday, added 10.9 percent to €109.43. Endsea was 0.9 percent higher to €39.04 and Acciona, the Spanish builder which owns a 21 percent stake in Endsea gained 1 percent to €155.

The steel sector was also affected by bids news. Corus added 7.9 percent to €9.13 as it was revealed that Tata Steel had won the bidding for the Anglo-Dutch steel maker. Hopes that there would be further consolidation in the sector sent ThyssenKrupp and Arcelor Mittal 3.8 percent higher each, to €36.54 and €36.43 respectively.

Truck manufacturers were higher during the week as well. Volvo added 3.2 percent to SKr513 even after it failed to meet projections for the fourth quarter when it upped its outlook and announced an extraordinary pay-out. Scania was 9 percent higher to SKr510.

Airlines were mostly up this week, the exception being Alitalia, which dropped 0.2 percent to €1.07 in a week when it received from two private equity groups but Air France-KLM said it was not interested in making a bid. Lufthansa added 3.5 percent to €21.90 on an upgrade from UBS, while Iberia gained 6.3 percent to €3.19. Air France, which also received a UBS upgrade, was 10.6 percent higher to €35.59.

In Europe on Monday the FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.3 percent to 1,517.07 on Monday despite declines in the telecommunications sector.

Telecoms were lower after Deutsche Telekom issued its second profits warning in six months, citing competition and currency issues. Citigroup lowered its recommendation on the German telecom from “hold” to “sell” and Deutsche Telekon dropped 4 percent to €13.60. Elsewhere in the sector, France Telecom fell 0.9 percent to €21.18, while Telecom Italia and Swisscom were each 1.5 percent lower, to €2.27 and SFr471.50 respectively.

Car and truck manufacturers was gains on the session. On rumors that it could be a target for Volvo, MAN added 2.6 percent to €78.86. Volvo was 1 percent higher on the talk, to SKr502, while Scania, the recent target of MAN’s failed hostile bid, was up 3.5 percent to SKr485. Fiat gained 2.8 percent to €16.67 on a target share price hike from JP Morgan.

The airline sector was up on merger hopes and on upgrades from UBS, which raised its recommendation on Lufthansa and Iberia from “neutral” to “buy” and hiked target share prices for both Ryanair and Air France-KLM. Lufthansa was up 1.1 percent to €21.38, Ryanair gained 1.3 percent to €11.04, Air France was 1.5 percent higher to €32.67, and Iberia gained 3.3 percent to €3.10. Meanwhile, Alitalia added 1.9 percent to €1.10.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was higher on Thursday as the MAN/Scania saga again raised share prices for all the companies involved in the story. The 300 added 0.8 percent to 1,436.34, yet another five-year high closing level.

MAN said it would again increase its offer for Scania from SKr442 to SKr475 per share and also announced that it has purchased 14 percent of Scania’s voting rights. Scania, backed by Investor, which owns 19 percent of Scania’s voting rights, rejected the new offer. Meanwhile, Scania revealed that its pre-tax earnings over the past nine months have gone up by 31 percent, while revenues are up almost 15 percent during that period. Volkswagen, which owns 34 percent of Scania’s voting rights and recently purchased 15 percent of MAN, continues to try to convince MAN and Scania to join it in a three-way deal.

All of this sent Scania’s A shares, those shares with voting rights, 10.1 percent higher to SKr490. Scania’s B shares added even more, gaining 11.1 percent to SKr476. MAN was 3.7 percent higher to €69.81, while Investor gained 2.2 percent to SKr162.50 and VW was up 0.4 percent to €70.24. Meanwhile Volvo, a domestic rival to Scania, added 2.7 percent to SKr458.50.

In the aerospace sector, EADS was 1.7 percent higher to €21.37 after the French and German governments said that they continue to support Airbus despite the airplane manufacturing unit’s continuing delay problems. German chancellor Angela Merkel added that her government was thinking about purchasing a stake in EADS.

The banking sector was higher on the session. Among Greek banks, EFG Eurobank gained 2.7 percent to €26.40, while National Bank of Greece added 3.8 percent to €34.74 on broker upgrades. In the French banking sector, Societe Generale was 4.2 percent higher to €135.10 on bids rumors.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.6 percent on Tuesday to 1,423.36, a new five-year high level, on strength in financial and banking sectors.

German non-life insurer Allianz added 2 percent to €143.32 on the expectation that the value of its investment in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will increase after that bank’s IPO in Hong Kong and Shanghai later in the month. Ras Holding, an Allianz subsidiary, was also higher, gaining 2.2 percent to €22.64.

Banks were mixed but mostly higher on the session. Spanish bank Banesto, which reported net profits up by 17.1 percent in nine months, still dropped 0.4 percent to €16.20 when the increase was not up to projections. However, Santander, which owns a majority of Banesto, added 2.2 percent to €13.18.

Meanwhile, in Italy, Banca Intesa gained 2.7 percent to €5.54 as it came close to an agreement to sell some of its branches to Credit Agricole as part of the terms required to complete its merger with Sanpaolo IMI, which added 2.4 percent on the session to €17.66.

Among Austrian banks, Erste Bank added 3.9 percent to €51.99 on positive comments from Bear Stearns and from Dresdner Kleinwort. Rival Raiffeisen International was 4.4 percent higher to €88.50.

In the transport equipment sector, MAN was down another 0.6 percent to €68.05, while Scania was 2.4 percent lower to SKr432.50. Volvo, meanwhile, was 3 percent higher to SKr445.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.2 percent on Wednesday to 1,369.99 as the vehicle manufacturing sector saw advances on the session.

Driving the sector was news that German truck manufacturer MAN is thinking of offering for Swedish rival Scania. MAN will have to convince Volkswagen, which owns a 34 percent voting share in Scania, and holding company Investor, which votes 19 percent of the Swedish company, that the merger is a good idea. Dresdner Kleinwort has said it thinks the deal makes sense.

While MAN dropped 0.9 percent to €60.12, Scania B shares added 8.3 percent to SKr422. Volkswagen gained 2 percent to €64.28 and Investor B shares were 2.7 percent higher to SKr150.5. Volvo, the second-largest truck manufacturer in the world, added 1.1 percent on the news, to SKr443.50.

In the telecommunications sector, Telecom Italia dropped 0.9 percent to €2.27 as the Italian government and unions reacted negatively to the radical restructuring plan announced by TI on Monday. Unions have reportedly begun making plans to strike.

Elsewhere in Italy, broadcaster Mediaset was 4.7 percent lower to €8.67 after it said it will likely miss its target for growth in advertising sales by 2 to 3 percent.

Bids news were in focus in Europe on Thursday, taking the FTSE Eurofirst 300 up by just 0.1 percent to 1,360.8. Technology stocks were higher once again, while oil saw declines as crude oil prices slipped further.

In the semiconductor sector, STMicroelectronics added 2.6 percent to €12.79 and ASML gained 3 percent to €16.68, while in the telecommunications equipment sector Ericsson was 2.2 percent higher to SKr23.50.

Among oil companies and related service providers, Total fell 0.8 percent to €53.20, while Saipem dropped 1.8 percent to €17.39. Neste Oil declined by 2.5 percent to €24.97, while Statoil was 2.6 percent lower to NKr170.

In the automobile manufacturing sector, Volvo was 5 percent higher to SKr401.50 amid rumors that a group of investors would enter a bid or force the carmaker to return cash to its shareholders. Both Renault, which owns 20 percent of Volvo, and German company Man denied involvement in the rumored moves and both added 2.7 percent on the session to €90.75 and €60.10 respectively.

Wienerberger bid 216p per share for UK rival Baggeridge Brick, sending the Austrian brick maker’s shares 0.8 percent higher to €37.40. Irish brick maker CRH, meanwhile gained 0.7 percent to €25.59.

In the insurance sector, Zurich Financial dropped 1.9 percent to SFr282.50 even though a new report showed that its net profits were up by 9 percent in the first half of the year. The decline came on the news that written premiums were down more than had been expected.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.1 percent to 1,387.35 on Tuesday despite gains in the automobile manufacturing sector.

Swiss luxury goods manufacturer Richemont dropped 3 percent to SFr64.15 on profit taking after it reported that annual sales was up 17 percent due to growth in its jewelry and watch making units. Richemont’s shares have added 16 percent since the beginning of the year.

Also down on the day was household appliance maker Electrolux. The company’s shares dropped 2.2 percent on the day to SKr218.50 after Goldman Sachs reiterated its “underperform” rating and cut its earnings per share estimate by 10 percent on the prospect of further rises in the cost of raw materials.

Gainers on the day included STMicroelectronics, which added 1.2 percent to €15.72 ahead of its quarterly earnings report which was due to be released after the close of trade. Infineon Technologies added 2.6 percent to €9.44 on an upgrade from “equal-weight” to “overweight” from Lehman Brothers. In addition, Infineon’s target share price was raised from €8 to €12.

Telecommunications company TeliaSonera was also up on the day, by 1.9 percent to SKr48.90, on higher than expected first quarter core earnings and a proposal for an additional annual dividend.

Among carmakers, Renault added 7.1 percent to €92.05 after it said its first quarter sales were up by 5.8 percent, year on year, better than the 4 percent advance that had been expected. Merrill Lynch raised Renault’s target share price from €85 to €100, while Dresden Kleinwort Wasserstein upped the target from €95 to €97. Elsewhere in the sector, Volvo was up 4.4 percent to SKr370.50, also on better than expected profits in the first quarter.