In European equities markets, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 closed at 1,179.31 on Friday, down just slightly on the day but up by 1.2 percent for the week.

Automobile manufacturer DaimlerChrysler was one of the big winners of the week, based on a positive quarterly report and the resignation of its unpopular chief executive. The company’s shares were up 12 percent on the week to €40.04.

Elsewhere in the automobile manufacturing sector, Fiat announced on Thursday that its profits had nearly doubled in the second quarter, gaining 2.9 percent on the week to close on Friday at €7.01.

Volkswagen also had a better-than-anticipated quarterly result, sending its shares up 2.2 percent on the day and up 6.2 percent for the week, for a closing quote on Friday of €44.82.

Daimler’s 9 percent rise on Thursday spurred Deutsche Bank to sell its 3.5 percent share of the company on the same day it released its own quarterly report and announced a huge share buyback. Deutsche Bank ended the week at €71.02, up 0.6 percent.

Less successful on the week were the chipmakers. STMicroelectronics released their second-quarter report on Wednesday, showing net profits down by 82 percent because of slow sales and restructuring costs and losing 3.3 percent for the week to €14.22.

Infineon reported disappointing results as well this week, sending shares down 3.8 percent to €8.11 and earning downgrades from several ratings agencies.