Investors took the bad news more seriously than the good news in Europe on Wednesday as the equities market fell slightly after rising into positive territory earlier in the day as good earnings reports took second place to an Ifo report that higher unemployment numbers and lower consumer confidence had driven business sentiment down for the fourth month in a row.

The pharmaceuticals sector had its problems, as Roche lost Tuesday’s gains to profit-taking, closing at SFr154.50, while shares in Serno were down 0.6 percent to SFr775 on warnings from the US Food and Drug Administration that the company’s multiple sclerosis drug could cause heart damage.

In the energy sector, however, OMV, the oil and gas group, rose 5.3 percent to €270.10 as its first-quarter operating profits were reported to have risen by 223 percent on acquisitions and profits from higher oil prices.

Spanish oil company Repsol gained 1.2 percent to €20.18 on news that it was negotiating with First Calgary Petroleums to enter into a joint venture to develop Algerian national gas resources. In addition, Norsk Hydro gained 1.2 percent to NKr514, while Statoil was up 0.9 percent to NKr112.25.

At the close of the day, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 had retreated 0.1 percent to 1,094.89.