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In a week that saw focus on two long-term stories of merger attempts, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.3 percent on Friday to close at 1,440.78 for a total gain of 2 percent over the week.

Both Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI saw gains after both companies’ boards of directors approved the merger on Thursday. Sanpaolo gained 1 percent during the week to €17.14, while Intesa added 3.6 percent to €5.46. But France’s Credit Agricole, which said on Wednesday that it supports the Intesa/Sanpaolo deal, dropped 4.6 percent to €34. The gains for Intesa and Sanpaolo came despite a downgrade for both banks Italian banks from Credit Suisse.

In another merger saga, MAN upped its bid for Scania during the week. Both Scania and shareholder Investor rejected the offer. It appeared that Volkswagen, however, which has been blocking the deal in favor of a three-way merger between itself, Scania and MAN, has changed its mind and will support the MAN/Scania merger. Scania’s A shares added 3.3 percent to SKr490 over the week. MAN was up 3.6 percent to €70.26.

In the telecommunications sector, Ericsson B shares were 6 percent higher during the week to SKr27.35 after its joint venture to manufacture cell phones with Sony posted a profit margin of 14.8 percent.

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Tokyo equities markets were higher on Friday. The Nikkei 225 added 1 percent to 16,536.54, it’s highest close in five months, while the Topix index added 0.9 percent to 1,628.00. The Mother’s index of small and mid-cap stocks added 5.3 percent to 1,140.02 after losses at the beginning of the week.

The retail sector saw a number of gains. Seven & I was 2.6 percent higher to ¥3,880. Aeon added 3.6 percent to ¥2,760 after it was reported that it would purchase a stake in Daiei, which was up 3.7 percent to ¥1,955 on the news. Aeon later said it would discuss buying 15 percent of Daiei. Discount retail chain Don Quijote gained 7.2 percent to ¥2,310 on an upgrade from “neutral” to “outperform” from Credit Suisse.

The major exception to the gains by retailers came from Fast Retailing, which dropped 2.90 percent to ¥11,240 even though it said its annual earnings were up by 19 percent and that they would be another 10 percent higher next year. The decline came on a downgrade from Mizuho Securities.

There were gains in the electronics sector, as well, with the exception of game machine manufacturer Sega Sammy, which fell 7.7 percent to ¥3,100 on disappointment with sales of its pachinko machines. Hitachi added 1.3 percent to ¥699, while Matsushita Electric Industrial gained 2.9 percent to ¥2,635 and Sony was 3.7 percent higher to ¥4,760 on an upgrade from “equal weight” to “overweight” from Morgan Stanley.

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London equities markets saw gains on Thursday as the FTSE 100 added 0.8 percent to 6,121.3 and the FTSE 250 gained 1 percent to 10,347.3. The 100’s close was its highest since April 21, while the 250 closed at an all-time high.

There were losers on the day, however, some of them taking substantial losses. Carphone Warehouse declined 14 percent to 310p on the announcement by Vodafone that it was awarding an exclusive retail contract in the UK to rival Phones4U. Vodfone dropped 0.2 percent to 130p after the news.

Cairn Energy was also lower on the session, dropping 2.8 percent to £18.35 after dropping as low as £16.73 earlier in the day. The initial drop came after a downgrade from ABN Amro, but investors came to the conclusion that the reduction was not as bad as first thought.

Supermarket chain William Morrison dropped 0.1 percent to 249½p after Brandes cut its holding in the company to 13 percent.

Gainers on the day included the mining sector, which advanced as commodities prices rose. Anglo American was 2.7 percent higher to £23.69, while Vedanta Resources added 3.2 percent to £13.62 and Rio Tinto gained 3.5 percent to £26.65. Anglo American was helped by rumors of bids and stake building.

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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.

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Declines in the banking sector sent the Tokyo equities markets lower on Thursday, with the Nikkei 225 dropping 0.2 percent to 16,368.81 and the Topix index down 0.5 percent to 1,613.64. Consumer finance companies, however, saw gains on the session.

In the consumer finance sector, Takefuji added 0.9 percent to ¥4,630, while Jaccs was 4.1 percent higher to ¥890 and Aiful advanced 4.4 percent to ¥4,020. Despite the gains in the sector, it was still down for the week.

Canon dropped 2.4 percent to ¥6,510 on a downgrade from “buy” to “hold” from Deutsche Bank, making the cut on the basis of the printer and copier maker’s rising share price. Sony, however, was 1.8 percent higher to ¥4,590 after its joint project with Ericsson to make mobile phones posted much better than expected results in the third quarter.

The banking sector saw declines on the session, falling 2.3 percent as a whole after UBS cut the ratings of several of Japan’s largest financial institutions. The reason given for the downgrades was that spreads between deposits and lending rates have not been improving quickly enough. SMFG dropped 1.6 percent to ¥1,240,000, while Mizuho Financial fell 2 percent to ¥906,000, Mitsubishi UFJ was 3.2 percent lower to ¥1,530,000, and Sumitomo Trust and Banking was off by 4.6 percent to ¥1,248.

These declines were partly offset by a 1.3 percent rise in the non-ferrous metals sector after metals prices increased. Sumitomo Metal Mining added 3.5 percent to ¥1,463.

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The New York equities markets were mixed at midday on Wednesday after the release of some mixed earnings reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were each 0.2 percent lower, to 11,842.04 and 1,351.44, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.1 percent higher to 2,316.78.

Alcoa dropped 5.7 percent to $26.69 after it said Tuesday evening that profits were up 86 percent in the third quarter, a significant gain but much less than had been expected. The results were put to lower prices for aluminium and declines in automobile manufacturing and homebuilding.

Fund manager Legg Mason was 17.3 percent lower on a warning that earnings in its second quarter would be substantially lower than has been estimated. Merrill Lynch cut its recommendation on Legg from “buy” to “sell”. The news, coupled with an offer from Bank of America that gives 30 free trades per month to customers with $25,000 in bank deposits with BofA, sent other brokerages lower. Charles Schwab dropped 5 percent to $17.16, while E*trade declined 10 percent to $22.05 and TD Ameritrade was 10.6 percent lower to $17.07.

Ag biotech and fertilizer group Monsanto was 5.1 percent lower to $44.05 on the news that its losses in the third quarter were greater than had been expected. It also said that next year’s earnings would be lower than earlier estimated.

Among gainers, drug retailer CVS added 4.2 percent to $30.97 on a preliminary third-quarter earnings report that was better than had been forecast. Insurance provider Progressive, meanwhile, was 2.8 percent higher to $25.40 on a third quarter report that showed earnings up by 34 percent in the quarter.

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Despite a round of profit-taking on Wednesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was still 0.1 percent higher on the session to close at 1,425.39.

Banks were mixed on the day. Gainers include Italian banks Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI as well as Societe Generale. Intesa and Sanpaolo were both higher after Credit Agricole said that it would support the proposed merger between the two Italian banks. Intesa was 1.3 percent higher to €5.61, while Sanpaolo gained 1.4 percent to €17.91. Societe Generale added 2.5 percent to €129.60.

Credit Agricole itself, however, dropped 5.1 percent to €33.70 on the support announcement and after it said it was thinking about a rights issue worth €4 billion for the first part of next year in order to fund the purchase of 600 Intesa branches. Dresdner Kleinwort, UBS, and ABN Amro all issued downgrades on Agricole.

Other banks seeing declines on the session included Raiffeisen International, which fell 0.6 percent to €88, Erste Bank, down 1.7 percent to €51.09, and Natexis Banque Populaire, which dropped 4.1 percent to €225.

The telecommunications sector saw gains on the day. Ericsson B shares added 4.6 percent to SKr27.30 on the news that its joint venture in the manufacture of handsets with Sony produced double the best estimates of pre-tax profits in the third quarter. Telecom Italia was 4.3 percent higher to €2.33 on a report that a French-Polish financier has purchased shares in the company. Bids rumors sent Deutsche Telekom up 2.6 percent to €12.77.

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The New York equities markets were mixed but close to unchanged at midday on Tuesday as investors waited for the earnings season to get serious. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.1 percent lower to 11,851.89, while the Nasdaq Compsite was nearly flat - up only 0.52 of a point - to 2,312.29 and the S&P 500 had added just 0.1 percent to 1,351.50.

Homebuilders were up as JP Morgan issued upgrades on DR Horton and Toll Brothers. Horton added 5 percent to $25.04 even though it said that new home orders were down by 25 percent in its fourth quarter after JP Morgan raised its recommendation from “neutral” to “overweight”. The broker upgraded Toll Brothers from “underweight” to “neutral”, sending the homebuilder 5.5 percent higher to $30.40. The upgrades also helped KB Home, which gained 3.7 percent to $46.44 despite warning that profits in the third quarter would likely drop by 32 percent.

Supermarkets were higher as well. Safeway added 2.9 percent to $29.59, while Supervalu was 4.6 percent higher to $32.42 on better than expected third-quarters earnings and an upgraded full-year earnings forecast.

With oil prices dropping again, ethanol manufacturer Archer Daniels Midland dropped 2.3 percent to $37.60. On the other hand, Nabors Industries, the oil services group, added 5.4 percent to $29.59 on rumors that it was a buyout target.

In the semiconductors sector, Qualcomm dropped 2.8 percent to $37.27 on a ruling from a judge at the International Trade Commission that it had violated Broadcom patents on a chip and a phone. The judge did not, however, ban import of the phone as Broadcom had requested.

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London equities markets were higher on Tuesday due to advances in a wide variety of sectors. The FTSE 100 added 0.7 percent to 6,072.7, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.9 percent to a new high of 10,244.5.

Asset managers had a good day as Schroders added 4.2 percent to £10.04, Amvescap gained 5.3 percent to 629p, and Man Group was 8.2 percent higher to 478p. Amvescap benefited from the news that the funds under its management have gone up from $428.9 billion in August to $440 billion in September. The September figure was a full $2 billion higher than some estimates.

In the telecommunications sector, Vodafone added 2.6 percent to 120¼p on an upgrade to “outperform” by Bernstein Research, which also set a target share price of 155p for the telecom company.

The oil sector was higher on gains in exploration companies despite another drop in crude oil prices. Premier Oil advanced by 4.5 percent to £11.70, a record high. Dana Petroleum, rumored to be interested in Premier, added 6.4 percent to £12.62. Tullow Oil and JKX Oil & Gas were both 6.1 percent higher, to 391p and 290p respectively.

Plumber and building materials company Wolseley added 3.9 percent to £12.11 on positive comments from JP Morgan concerning US homebuilders. Wolseley gains around 60 percent of its revenues from the US market every year.

Among losers on the session, Shire dropped 4.6 percent to 961p as investors decided that its 15 percent advance on Monday was out of proportion to the news that the drug maker had gained approval for its hyperactivity drug, NRP 104, for use in the United States.

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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.

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In its first trading day since North Korea claimed to have conducted a nuclear test, the main Tokyo equities markets managed to hold their own as the Nikkei 225 added 0.3 percent to 15,491.65 and the Topix index held steady at 1,634.83. However, the Mothers index of small and mid-cap stocks dropped 4 percent to 1,125.60. Domestically-focused stocks tended to not do as well as export-dependent stocks.

Companies that supply Japan’s defense force did well in the wake of uncertainty over what North Korea’s claims mean for Japan. Ishikawa Seisakusho, which makes textile-making machines and defense equipment, was 5.5 percent higher to ¥173.

One domestic sector that was able to maintain gains was real estate, which is still benefiting from the general upward trend of Japanese land prices. Mitsubishi Estate added 0.9 percent to ¥2,805, while Mitsui Fudosan gained 1.5 percent to ¥2,790. Retail, however, was down 1.6 percent as a sector, with general retailer Seven & I down 1.8 percent to ¥3,840.

With machinery orders down more than expected, the sector dropped 0.7 percent and construction machinery manufacturer Komatsu was 1.4 percent lower to ¥2,095.

The electronics sector was higher on the session. Toshiba added 2 percent to ¥721, while Sharp gained 2.5 percent to ¥2,075 and NEC Electronics was 3.6 percent higher to ¥4,040.

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The New York markets were quiet on Monday due to the Columbus Day holiday, and results were mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.1 percent lower at midday to 11,843.72, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.4 percent to 2,308.90 and the S&P 500 was virtually flat, up just half a point to 1,350.08. Besides the effect of the holiday, many investors were waiting for new earnings data to come in before committing themselves.

Chicago exchanges were mixed on the day. While the Chicago Mercantile Exchange added 4.5 percent to $513.05 on reports that it was looking at a possible deal with Deutsche Borse, the Chicago Board of Trade dropped 2.7 percent to $134.03 after the London Metal Exchange denied that the two are in discussions about a takeover of the LME.

Commodities stocks were higher. With crude oil prices up, Noble was 2.1 percent higher to $63.17 and Occidental Petroleum gained 1.5 percent to $46.25. Among companies dealing in metals, Alcoa added 2.1 percent to $28.31, while Freeport McMoran was up 2.8 percent to $54.28.

In a related sector, steel makers were up enough to take the S&P Steel Index to its highest level in three months. Nucor added 6 percent to $54.16, while US Steel gained 6.6 percent to $64.52.

In computer-related sectors, internet search engine Google was 1.9 percent higher to $428.64 on an agreement with Sony BMG and Warner Music to stream music videos. Meanwhile, chipmaker Nvidia added 5 percent to $32.48 to take its gains since July to 80 percent.

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The London equities markets were mixed on Monday, with the FTSE 100 adding 0.5 percent to 6,030.9 but the FTSE 250 dropping 0.2 percent to 10,152.3.

The pharmaceuticals sector was higher on the session. Glaxo-Smith-Kline gained 0.6 percent to £14.54 on talk that it is engaged in discussions with Novartis concerning a merger. Shire added 14.9 percent for the best performance among blue-chips, to £10.08 when the Food and Drug Administration in the United States approved its NRP104 treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder for use there.

Media companies didn’t have nearly so good a day. Reed Elsevier dropped 1 percent to 588½p on rumors that a profits warning is forthcoming. EMI fell 1.9 percent to 264¾p in anticipation of a less than encouraging trading update due next week. ITV, meanwhile, was 2.2 percent lower to 100¼p when UBS lowered its advertising growth prediction for the broadcaster, removed it from its “buy” list, and cut its earnings per share forecast for both this year and next.

Homebuilders were mixed, with Redrow up 1.4 percent to 630p but Barratt Developments 1.6 percent lower to £10.98 as rumors that Barratt is interested in a takeover of Redrow continued to ciruclate.

In the steel sector, Corus added 2.7 percent to 494p on reports that Tata Steel of India could be close to an offer worth £5 billion.

Marks and Spencer was 1.3 percent higher to 662½p, near a record high, on positive comments and an increased target share price from Morgan Stanley.

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European equities markets seemed little bothered Monday by North Korea’s announcement that it had tested a nuclear device. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.2 percent to 1,414.38.

Part of the gains on the day came from advances in the oil and mining sectors as prices for crude oil and metals were up after the North Korean news. In the UK, the mining sector added 3.3 percent as a whole. Among European oil companies, Total advanced 1.2 percent to €51.90, while Neste Oil was 1.9 percent higher to €22.60 and OMV added 3.1 percent to €39.28.

The MAN/Scania story continued to unfold. MAN said that it was thinking about discontinuing its hostile bid for Scania in favor of talks between those two companies and Scania’s largest shareholder, Volkswagen, after VW bought 15 percent of MAN last week. MAN added 0.9 percent to €68.45 on its announcement. Meanwhile, VW dropped 0.4 percent to €69.31, Investor B shares fell 2.2 percent to SKr154.50 and Scania B shares fell 4.4 percent to SKr443. Scania B shares were suspended from trade for a time during the session.

Elsewhere in the automobile manufacturing sector, Renault dropped 0.2 percent to €89.95 after GM shareholder Kirk Kerkorian said he would not buy any more GM stock, signaling an end to the possibility that Renault, Nissan, and GM might form some sort of cooperative relationship. Kerkorian had been an advocate of such a deal. Peugeot, meanwhile, fell 0.6 percent to €42.92 on a downgrade and lowered target share price from Morgan Stanley. The broker reduced its reccomendation on the carmaker from “overweight” to equal-weight” and dropped its target from €53 to €41.

In the telecommunications sector, TeliaSonera added 2.3 percent to SKr49.20 on the news that investment fund Cevian Capital had bought 72 million shares in the telecom, an acquisition that gives the fund a 1.6 percent stake in the company, making it TeliaSonera’s fourth-largest shareholder.

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Wall Street was mixed on Thursday at mid-session as commodity prices began to rise once again. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 10.81 points below Wednesday’s record high close to 11,839,80, while the S&P 500 was just 0.17 of a point lower to 1,350.05. On the other hand, the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.2 percent to 2,296.14 by midday.

There were gains in the oil and mining sectors on the rising commodity prices. ConocoPhillips added 1.9 percent to $57.87, while oil services company Noble was 3.2 percent higher as OPEC considered cutting production. As industrial metals prices gained ground, Freeport McMoran advanced 4.1 percent to $51.04 and Phelps Dodge gained 4.2 percent to $81.94.

The steel sector was also up, on the news that Tata Steel of India is thinking about bidding for Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus. Nucor added 5 percent to $51.20, while US Steel gained 5.7 percent to $59.16.

In the hotel sector, Starwood Hotels gained 3.3 percent to $59.90, mostly on the strength of Marriott International’s 4 percent gain to $39.88 on its announcement that although its third-quarter profits were down by 5 percent, they were still higher than analysts had predicted.

Things were not as positive in the retail sector. Wal-Mart was 2.2 percent lower to $48.46, while supermarket chain Safeway dropped 3.3 percent to $28.60 and department store Dillard’s dropped 10 percent to $30.26 on flat same-store sales last month.

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Mergers and acquisitions news continued to drive the European equities markets on Thursday as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 saw its highest closing level since mid-2001 and indices in Spain and Switzerland hit all-time highs. The Eurofirst added 0.6 percent to 1,410.11.

MAN was down again, dropping 3.6 percent to €66 as the fallout of Volkswagen’s purchase of 15 percent of the German truckmaker’s shares Wednesday continued. Analyst opinion is that VW made the purchase to protect its own truck unit and its investment in Scania, in which it is the largest shareholder. MAN made a bid for Scania last month. Scania’s B shares added 0.8 percent on the session to SKr465.50, while VW gained 1.2 percent to €69.65.

Low-cost air carrier Ryanair dropped 0.8 percent to €8.63 after it said it has purchased 16 percent of Aer Lingus and intends to bid for the remaining shares in the Irish airline. With Aer Lingus saying that they reject the bid and analysts saying that there is not much chance of the bid effort succeeding Aer Lingus, which only began trading publicly on Monday, added 15.5 percent to €2.90.

The steel sector saw advances on the day after Tata Steel of India said it was considering a bid for Corus. This follows Mittal Steel’s acquisition of Arcelor earlier in the year. Corus added 15.8 percent to €7.03 on the talk, and other steel makers gained on the possibility of further consolidation within the sector. Arcelor Mittal gained 3 percent to €27.70, while Salzgitter advanced 3.2 percent to €77.82 and ThyssenKrupp was 3.6 percent higher to €27.18.

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Equities markets in Tokyo were up substantially on Thursday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average in New York closed at its highest level in history. The Nikkei 225 added 2.3 percent to 16,449.33, while the Topix index was 2 percent higher to 1,633.20. Export-focused stocks and domestic sectors both saw advances on the session.

The securities sector was the biggest winner, with an advance of 4.3 percent as a whole. Among the traditional brokerage houses, Nomura added 4.4 percent to ¥2,140, while Daiwa was 4.8 percent higher and Nikko Cordial gained 5.6 percent to ¥1,389. Online brokers were also higher, but did less well on the session. Monex Beans was up 1.3 percent to ¥95,300 and Kabu.com gained 3.5 percent to ¥208,000.

Among pharmaceuticals companies, Astellas added 6.8 percent to ¥5,010 after it announced larger than anticipated job cuts and a share buyback.

In export sectors, construction machinery manufacturer Komatsu gained 2.7 percent to ¥2,095, while carmaker Toyota was 2.9 percent higher to ¥6,760. Advantest added 4.2 percent to ¥6,020.

The major exception to the days gains was the electronics sector. Sony dropped another 0.2 percent to ¥4,440. Toshiba fell 5.2 percent to ¥723 on a downgrade from Goldman Sachs. The broker reduced Toshiba’s rating from “buy” to “neutral” after the electronics company said it will purchase 77 percent of US power plant company Westinghouse.

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The New York equities markets were up at mid-session on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching a new intra-day high of 11,786.49. By midday the Dow had settled to 11,779.29, a gain of 0.4 percent. The Nasdaq Composite was 1.1 percent higher to 2,267.39, while the S&P 500 had added 0.5 percent to 1,340.96.

Dropping commodities prices sent miners and oil-related stocks lower. Anadarko Petroleum was 2.1 percent lower to $40.24 after a downgrade from “buy” to “neutral” issued by Bank of America. Phelps Dodge dropped 3.1 percent to $77.57.

Among retailers, Wal-Mart declined 1.5 percent to $48.73 on same-store sales in September that were up 1.3 percent, against a predicted gain of 1.8 percent.

Technology related stocks were higher on the day, however. Nvidia, helped by rumors that Intel was considering a bid, added 6.5 percent to $30.13. Sandisk was up 3.6 percent to $55.23 after it said it will begin distributing its flash-memory products in India, starting with 2,000 outlets in the next few weeks and increasing that to 14,000 outlets by the end of next year. Software giant Microsoft gained 1.4 percent to $27.76, while internet auctioneer Ebay was 5.2 percent higher to $29.65.

The pharmaceuticals sector was mixed on the session. While ImClone was up 6 percent to $28.80 after it reported that it had received a bid last month, which it had rejected, from a major pharma group. On the other hand, Genentech dropped 1.6 percent to $82.50 after an analyst said that cancer-drug sales in the third quarter might have been below expectations.

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The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.7 percent higher on Tuesday to close at 1,402.38, its highest finish since early May.

The MAN/Scania story continued to unfold. Volkswagen added 1.3 percent to €68.85 after it announced that it had purchased 15.06 percent of MAN. VW said that it was a “strategic” acquisition but that it has no intention to take over the truck manufacturer, which made a bid for Swedish truck maker Scania last month. Scania, meanwhile, said that VW’s purchase put the proposed deal in a new light, but did not elaborate, while Investor, which also owns part of Scania, said it knew that VW had planned to purchase shares in MAN. The news sent Investor B shares 2 percent higher to SKr155 and Scania B shares were up 5.2 percent to SKr462. MAN, however, dropped 7.5 percent to €68.44.

Banks were higher as there were rumors of consolidation within the sector, spurred by French reports that Citigroup was looking at several European banks for possible takeover bids. BNP Paribas, which added 2.3 percent to €86, was mentioned as one of the potential targets. Other possible targets named were Societe Generale and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, which each added 2.4 percent to €125.90 and €18.50 respectively. Citibank had no comment on the rumors.

In the aerospace sector, EADS ended the session 4.2 percent lower to €21.71, and was down as much as 13 percent earlier in the day, after it announced yet another delay before it will be able to deliver its new A380 superjumbo jet. The airplane manufacturer also issued a profit warning. The news triggered a downgrade from Credit Suisse from “neutral” to “under perform”, while UBS lowered its recommendation from “buy” to “neutral”. Both brokers also lowered their target share prices on EADS.

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The Tokyo equities markets were lower on Wednesday after North Korea again said that it is planning on testing a nuclear device at some point. The Nikkei 225 and the Topix index each dropped 1 percent to 16,082.55 and 1,601.99 respectively. The Mothers index of small and mid-cap stocks did even worse, falling 2.1 percent to 1,180.36.

Falling commodity prices were also a factor in declines, as commodity-related stocks were down on the session. Upstream oil company Inpex was 2.1 percent lower to ¥873,000, while downstream oil company Cosmo Oil dropped 3.4 percent to ¥458. Nippon Mining, which both smelts copper and refines oil, fell 5.6 percent to ¥778.

The electronics sector was also lower. Matsushita Electric Industrial, the world’s biggest consumer electronics manufacturer, declined 1.3 percent to ¥2,515, while Sony fell another 3.3 percent to ¥4,450 after Tuesday’s announcement that it will not launch its Blu-ray optical disc recorder in Japan until December, a month after Matsushita introduces its version.

The worries over Korea’s nuclear program also hit the banking sector. Mitsubishi UFJ dropped 0.7 percent to ¥1,500,000 and Mizuho was 1.3 percent lower to ¥900,000. In the real estate sector, meanwhile, Mitsui Fudosan was up 0.4 percent to ¥2,695 and Mitsubishi Estate added 1.5 percent to ¥2,655, but Nomura Real Estate, which began trade on Tuesday, was 1.9 percent lower in Wednesday’s session to ¥4,040.

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