In European equities markets on Friday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 ended the day and the week higher, gaining 0.6 percent on the day and the same amount on the week to close at 1,213.86.

However, with elections scheduled for Sunday in Germany, the Xetra Dax was down 0.4 percent for the week to 4,986.50 as uncertainty over the outcome remained a concern for many.

Takeover rumors provided most of the non-election interest during the week. Danone, the French food group, saw sharp gains in its shares Friday on the announcement that the French government would discontinue its efforts to protect the company from takeover attempts.

Earlier in the year when rumors that Pepsico would bid for Danone, the French president said that the government would protect the company, but the French industry minister has now said that the company must defend itself. While Danone lost 0.2 percent for the week, it gained 2.3 percent on Friday to €92.60 at the close.

In the defence sector, defence electronics group Thales and aerospace group EADS both benefited from rumors that EADS would bid for Thales. Thales gained 2.2 percent to €38.44, while EADS was up 0.4 percent to €28.30.

Meanwhile, in the telecommunications sector, Nokia added 3.2 percent to €13.49 after it adjusted its third-quarter sales and profit estimates upward.

As investors and analysts seemed to be taking the tack that the recovery from Hurricane Katrina might actually help the economy out, despite an estimate from Treasury Secretary John Snow that the fallout from Katrina could cut half a percentage point off US economic growth for the year, New York equities markets were up again on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4 percent to 10,633.50, the Nasdaq composite index was up 0.2 percent to 2,172.03, and the S&P 500 advanced by 0.2 percent to 1,236.36.

Fast food and hotel and casino operators saw gains on the day. The hotel and casino sector fell last week, largely on hits to that industry in the hurricane zone, but is seeing a recovery this week. Starwood was up 2.3 percent to $59.80, Hilton Hotels gained 2.7 percent to $23.61, and Harrah’s Entertainment added 5.4 percent to $72.21. In the fast food sector, Yum Brands, the operator of KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, was up 6.1 percent to $50.66 on comments that higher energy prices do not seem to be having much effect on sales. McDonald’s gained 3.2 percent to $33.70. Wendy’s advanced by 3.1 percent to $48.55.

The steel sector was also up, at least partly on expected demand in the wake of Katrina, as US Steel gained 2.2 percent to $44.71 and Nucor added 1.6 percent to $58.55. Losers on the day included semiconductor company Altera, which lost 7.8 percent to $20.11.

The New York equities markets were down on the day Friday and on the week as durable goods orders and sales of existing homes were down, as well as on data released on Friday by the University of Michigan that consumer sentiment in the US has fallen more than was expected.

Not helpful for the markets, either, were comments by Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan that housing prices are unbalanced and could end up affecting the US economy adversely.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5 percent on the day and 1.5 percent on the week to close at 10,397.29, the Nasdaq composite fell 0.6 percent Friday and 0.7 percent for the week to 2,120.77, and the S&P 500 was down by 0.6 percent for the day and 1.2 percent on the week to 1,205.1, leaving both the Nasdaq and the S&P at their lowest levels since the middle of July.

Some companies that saw losses this week blamed climbing oil prices that cut into consumer spending for other items.

Applebee’s International, the restaurant chain, said that high oil prices were the main reason that it reduced its earnings predictions for the year. Applebee’s lost 8.1 percent on the week to close at $22.36 on Friday.

Furniture maker La-Z-Boy lost 3.8 percent this week to end at $13.51 after it said second-quarter sales would be down due to high oil prices impinging on consumer spending in other areas.

Homebuilders saw losses on the week despite a report of a record month for sales of new homes in July. Beazer Homes lost 4.4 percent on the week to $58.56, KB Homes lost 2.6 percent to $$70.09, and Pulte Homes declined by 1.7 percent to $83.02. The S&P sector index for homebuilders dropped 1.2 percent on the week.

There were gains on the week, with York International, the heater and air conditioner maker, up 37 percent to $57 after an offer from Johnson Controls.

The rest of the sector also saw gains. In the technology sector, Hewlett Packard gained 0.4 percent to $27.01 when it said it would invest $150 million in radio frequency identification technology.

Higher oil prices managed to wipe out any early gains on the New York equities markets on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.8 percent to 10,434.87, the Nasdaq composite ended up 0.4 percent lower at 2,128.91, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.7 percent on the day to close at 1,209.59.

The early gains had been in response to data showing record new-home sales in the US in July, and some home builders managed to hang on to their gains at the end of the session.

Beazer Homes was up 2.6 percent to $60.98, Pulte Homes added 1.6 percent to $84.84, and Centex rose by 0.9 percent to $66.13.

The restaurant industry saw losses on the day as worries continued that high gasoline prices are cutting into consumer spending.

Restaurant chain Applebee’s International lost 7 percent to $22.37 after it cut its 2005 earnings forecast and blamed it on high oil prices. Outback Steakhouse also was down on the day, falling 2 percent to $42.92, while Brinker International dropped 3 percent to $42.49.

Meanwhile, Google gained 1.1 percent to $282.57 when it announced its first venture into the internet telephone market.

European equities fell for the fifth day in a row as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost 0.2 percent to 1,186.10 at the close of trade on Wednesday.

Staffing group Adecco, the world’s largest, fell 5.9 percent on the day to SF461.80 for the worst performance by a blue-chip company after a report of second-quarter profits that were in line with predictions.

Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein repeated its rating of “reduce” on the company’s shares and kept its target price at SFr57 per share after Adecco had to drop its gross margin target for the year due to bad conditions in its French market.

Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML gained 2.6 percent to €14.20 after Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein reiterated its “buy” rating and said that expectations for orders to the company in the second half are too low. Infineon was also up on the day, by 2.6 percent to €7.77, and STMicroelectronics added 2 percent to €13.76.

Elsewhere, Nestle lost 1.2 percent on the day to SFr353.75 even though profits and sales in the first half were above predictions as commodity prices held margins below what had been hoped for.

The New York equities markets found themselves at the end of the week almost exactly where they had started on Monday, losing early gains despite a group of positive reports on the US economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6 percent on Friday to close the week at 10,640.91, the Nadsaq also lost 0.6 percent to end at 2,184.83, and the S&P 500 declined by 0.8 percent to 1,234.18.

Amazon led the gainers on the week, with an advance of 19 percent to close at $45.15. Wendy’s International did very well, too, with a gain of 14.2 percent to $51.70, as it said Friday it would sell as much as 18 percent of its Tim Horton chain of coffee and donut shops in an initial public offering.

On the down side, Delta Airlines lost nearly 15 percent during the week to $2.96 after a warning that the air carrier is fighting to keep its head above water.

In the oil sector, Chevron reported a 10 percent decline in income as it tries to fight off CNOOC to purchase Unocal. The value of Chevron’s shares declined by 1.6 percent to $58.01.

Exxon Mobil was about even for the week but has gained nearly 15 percent since the beginning of the year, closing at $58.75. Royal Dutch Shell reported earnings above expectations and saw its shares rise by 1.5 percent to $61.28 on Friday.

In the aerospace sector, Boeing reported better than expected earnings in the second quarter, and even though profits fell 7 percent the airplane manufacturer upped its earnings outlook for the year.

While Boeing’s shares were flat at its close at $66.01, share value is up by more than 27 percent since the beginning of the year.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained just less than 0.1 percent to close at 1,164.53 on Friday to end a week that saw more attacks on London’s transport system and the revaluation, albeit slight, of China’s currency.

In reporting its second quarter results on Thursday, Finnish telecommunications company Nokia said that its market share had increased from 32 percent to 33 percent, but that profit margins had shrunk due to the higher cost of manufacturing and lower average selling prices.

Following a series of downgrades, including a change to “underweight” by JPMorgan and a cut in target price from €17 to €16 by UBS, the value of Nokia’s shares lost 12.7 percent on the week to €12.90, to be the index’s largest decliner for the week.

On the other hand, Swedish company Ericsson reported strong results, but managed to gain only 0.6 percent for the week to close at SKr26.60 on Friday.

French food group Danone remained one of the weeks best performers on the strength of speculation that US company PepsiCo was ready to make a bid for the company, even though by the end of the week Danone’s chief executive had said he would oppose the bid.

Despite this negative news, Danone kept much of the 16 percent gain it had achieved at the beginning of the week to close at €3.42 on Friday, a gain of 10.7 for the week.

Investors in Europe were little affected by new attacks in London after it became clear that the incidents were much smaller in scale than the deadly bombings of two weeks ago.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.2 percent to 1,164.80. Gainers on the Eurofirst were led by Essilor International, which were up by 4.7 percent to €60.80.

The optical lenses manufacturer reported that its first-half sales were up by 6.7 percent on recovery in its European business and on continuing growth in Asia and Latin America.

Although German business software maker SAP announced that it had surpassed expectations on license sales and operating income, investors were disappointed that the company only reaffirmed its full-year revenue growth forecast at 10 to 12 percent. Shares in SAP were down 1.4 percent to €145.50.

French dairy and food group Danone was also down despite good news from the first half as analysts said that the company was showing signs of a slowdown and as the company’s chairman made remarks that investors took to indicate that the would oppose a rumored takeover bid by PepsiCo. Danone lost 5.2 percent on the day to €87.85.

In the eurozone on Tuesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.5 percent to close at 1,165.92.

French food group Danone was up 10.2 percent to €87.60 after hitting an all-time high of €90.55 earlier in the day.

Danone is expected to announce a first-half gain of about 6 percent in like-for-like sales, but the thing that drove its gains were rumors that PepsiCo is getting ready to mount a takeover bid for the company.

On the coattails of these rumors Dutch food company Numico gained 3.5 percent to €34.25 on rumors that if PepsiCo does buy the French company, Numico might acquire Danone’s baby food division.

In the steel sector, high prices sent shares higher, with Arcelor up 3.8 percent to €17.29, ThyssenKrupp 1.6 percent higher at €14.88, and Corus Group gained 3 percent to €0.68.

In the meantime, Greece did better than the rest of Europe as the Athens General index finished the day up 2.5 percent at 3,252.13, a 50-month high. The index has risen 4.3 percent in the first two days of the week.

The New York equities markets closed on an up note Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.11 percent for the day to 10,640.83, the Nasdaq composite added 0.18 percent to 2,156.78, and the S&P 500 rose by 0.12 percent to 1,227.92.

Stocks were helped during the week by strong reports on the state of the economy as well as by good quarterly earnings reports from several companies.

Oil prices did not seem to upset the market, one analyst said, because investors knew that the price of crude oil was heavily weather-related in nature, rising when storms threaten Gulf of Mexico oil facilities and falling when the threats subside.

Among the economic data released during the week was a report of a slightly smaller US trade deficit, higher retail sales in the US, and inflation that remained under control in June.

Apple and Advanced Micro Devices were the stars of the week, but at least one other company also released a good quarterly report.

PepsiCo, the second-biggest soft-drink manufacturer in the world, reported that strong growth in its international business resulted in better-than-expected quarterly profits, which translated into a 4.1 percent rise to $55.71 on the week.

The approach of another tropical storm send oil prices up, forcing US equities markets down early on Tuesday.

By the close, however, the markets were mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down but the S&P and Nasdaq indexes up.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6 percent to close at 10,513.89, the S&P 500 had gained 0.23 percent to 1,222.21, and the Nasdaq composite advanced 0.36 percent to 2,143.15.

PepsiCo gained 1.9 percent to $54.91 on the news that quarterly profits were up more than expected.

Biotechnology company Genentech gained 1 percent to $84.96, also on news of better-than-expected quarterly results. Walt Disney gained 1.8 percent to $25.62 amid reports that it will sell its radio stations.

There were big losers and big gainers in the New York equities markets on Tuesday. Retailer Sears lost 8.7 percent and closed at $141.50 as it reported losses in the most recent quarter, making it one of the worst performers on the S&P 500 for the day.

In the food sector, ConAgra was down 5.4 percent to $24.50 when they warned investors that earnings will be affected by problems in its packaged-meat division. On the winning side, biotechnology company Monsanto was up 4.8 percent to $61.63 after it announcement that it was taking an equity share in Solutia, one of their bankrupt affiliates.

A notable but not as precipitous rise was the 1 percent gain for General Motors as it announced a plan to cut 25,000 jobs in the next four years. Shares in GM have declined in value by 22 percent this year. Overall, the S&P 500 fell just a bit to 1,197.36, the Nasdaq was down 0.4 percent to close at 2,067.14, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 percent to 10,484.18.

The markets had rallied earlier in the day after Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan’s Monday night comments to a conference in Beijing were interpreted to mean that interest rates would not be going too high in the immediate future.