It was a losing day on Wall Street on Friday, but the major indices managed to post gains on the week, remarkable in a week that saw the worst hurricane to ever hit the US coast and a number of economic reports that were far from positive.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.12 percent on the day to 10,447.37, although it gained 0.4 percent on the week. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq composite lost 0.32 percent for the day to close at 2,141.07, a gain of 1 percent on the week, and the S&P 500 was down 0.29 percent on the day but up 1.1 percent on the week to close Friday’s session at 1,218.02.

The oil sector made significant gains as prices rose due to closures of oil platforms and refineries as well as predictions of supply shortages. Construction companies and their materials suppliers also saw gains as it became clear that extensive rebuilding in the hurricane zone would be necessary.

The S&P 500 oil and gas refiners’ index gained 17.8 percent on the week. In individual oil stocks, ExxonMobil was down 1.3 percent on Friday but gained 4.3 percent on the week to $60.87, Sunoco fell 1.5 percent on Friday but was up 18 percent on the week, and Valero Energy gained 0.4 percent on the day and 16.6 percent on the week to $109.96.

In the construction sector, Halliburton was up 8.6 percent on the week, even though it lost 1.3 percent to close at $62.35. Retailers had a bad week, as the S&P 500 apparel retailers index fell 3.7 percent on the week and the department store index lost 4.9 percent.

Leisure sectors also saw declines, as the S&P casino index was down 5.1 percent and the hotels index lost 4.1 percent, both on concerns of the short and long-term effects of Katrina on sector business in the Southeast US.

Crude oil prices once again were a major reason that Tokyo equities markets ended the day lower on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 was down 0.3 percent to 12,413.60, while the Topix index fell 0.2 percent to 1,271.29.

Airlines, shippers and automobile manufacturers all fell, as did the transport equipment sector, which was down 0.8 percent as a whole. Toyota lost 1.1 percent to ¥4,500 as investors worried that the export-dependent carmaker could be harmed if demand in the US goes down due to high oil prices.

Japan Airlines, which said it was considering raising domestic fares, was down 1.3 percent to ¥311, as the air transport sector fell 0.6 percent. Shipper Mitsui OSK declined by 0.7 percent to ¥808.

In addition Japan’s second largest travel agency, Kinki Nippon Tourist, lost 3.7 percent to ¥315 on worries that travel costs will increase.

Oil refiner and shipper Cosmo Oil decreased by 4.7 percent to ¥549 on the announcement that it would issue ¥39 billion in new bonds and shares as it tries to raise money to expand its refining capacity.

The Tokyo equities markets were down substantially on Monday as crude oil prices rose to new highs yet again, peaking at over $70 per barrel.

The Nikkei 225 lost 1 percent to 12,309.83, while the Topix index declined by 1.1 percent to 1,258.64.

Stocks were down almost across the board as it was believed by investors that high oil prices would hit exports only marginally more than they would hit companies that depend on domestic demand.

Energy-dependent sectors did especially badly, with the sea transport sector down 2 percent as a whole, while the air transport sector was down an even larger 2.2 percent, due to a bomb scare on a Japan Airlines plane as well as to the surge in oil prices.

Information and communications stocks were down 1.4 percent, while the transport equipment sector fell 1.3 percent, and precision machinery as a whole lost 1.2 percent.

In the airlines sector, Japan Airlines lost 3.1 percent to ¥313 and All Nippon Airways fell by 1.4 percent to ¥362. Japan’s largest automobile manufacturer lost 2 percent to ¥4,450, and it’s biggest shipper, Nippon Yusen, declined by 1.7 percent to ¥686.

Japan’s largest brokerage house, Nomura, lost 1.6 percent to ¥1,488 as the securities sector as a whole fell by 1.5 percent.

In European equities markets on Monday, stocks rose after a full week of losses last week as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 ended the day up 0.3 percent to 1,167.43, in the absence of trading of 76 UK stocks because of the UK bank holiday.

The oil sector was mixed on the day, with Hurricane Katrina to blame. Smaller oil companies were mainly up, with Austrian company OMV up 2.7 percent to €43.70, while Saipem of Italy added 1.7 percent to €13.17.

However some larger oil companies, and especially those with operations in the Gulf of Mexico, sustained losses due to production halts and the uncertainty over whether or not their facilities would sustain damage from the storm. Royal Dutch Shell lost 0.1 percent to €26.79. Despite the storm Total, the French oil company, managed to gain 0.4 percent to €206.60.

The airlines and automobile manufacturing sectors saw losses due to rising oil prices. Lufthansa fell 0.1 percent to €10.74 and Ryanair declined by 0.6 percent to €6.55.

Tui, out of Germany, managed to overcome the news of higher oil prices to gain 1.2 percent to €19.28 on its announcement that it was thinking about raising fuel surcharges this winter.

In the auto sector Volkswagen was one of the few stocks to avoid losses, avoiding movement at all to stay at €42.91. Elsewhere, Renault lost 0.6 percent to €71.55, while Peugeot and Porsche each fell by 0.2 percent, to €50.60 and €637.63 respectively.

Insurers also had a bad day as losses due to Hurricane Katrina were being projected to possibly rise as high as $25 billion if it hit major population centers.

Primary insurers did badly enough, with Zurich Financial falling as far as SFr215.20 before ending the day up by only 0.1 percent to SFr220.70 and ING losing 0.3 percent to €23.18. Reinsurers did even worse. Swiss Re fell 0.4 percent to SFr81.65, Munich Re lost 0.5 percent to €90.73, and Hannover Re declined by 0.8 percent to €29.70.

The London equities markets ended both the day Friday and the week mixed as investors worried that interest rates might be about to rise due to an increase in inflation brought on by higher oil prices.

The FTSE 100 closed at 5,228.1 on Friday, down 0.5 percent on the day and 1.6 percent lower for the week. The FTSE 250, however, gained 0.3 percent for the day and 0.5 percent for the week to close at 7,700.5.

Trade volumes were low at only 2 billion shares traded on the day. The slow trade was put to the upcoming bank holiday; traditionally, this is one of the quietest times of year on the exchanges.

With little news of substance, rumors concerning possible takeovers drew extra attention.

On Friday such rumors sent shares in Imperial Tobacco up a bit, rising 0.1 percent to £15.36. All it took to start the rumors were comments from Japan Tobacco that it might be interested in acquiring European rivals.

During the week Centrica, Lloyds TSB, and Rentokil were all the subject of takeover rumors of one sort or another.

Lloyds saw its shares fall in value by 0.1 percent to 457½p on Friday as analysts cast doubt on rumors that US bank Wells Fargo was interested in the bank.

Meanwhile, leisure group Hilton gained 2 percent to 310p as Goldman Sachs raised its pre-tax profits prediction for the company by 2 percent to £420.8 million. Hilton was also helped by an increase in its target price by UBS from 340p to 355p.

The results of high oil prices ran the results on European equities markets on Thursday, even though crude oil prices retreated some from record high prices as the day progressed.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.7 percent to 1,172.57, its lowest close in three weeks.

Oil stocks were up early but gave up their gains later in the day, and shares in companies highly dependent on oil and oil products were down on the prospect of having to pay higher prices for those products.

In the oil sector, Total lost 1 percent to €207.30, while Repsol fell by 1.4 percent to €23.52 and Eni declined by 1.5 percent to €23.49.

Oil service group Saipem, however, gained 1.8 percent to €13.14 on an upgraded rating to “buy” from “neutral” from UBS.

Among oil-dependent companies, chemical group BASF lost 1.2 percent to €57.28.

In the automobile sector, Renault dropped 1.8 percent to €72.30, while Volkswagen was down 1.5 percent to €43.29.

The airlines were down as well, with Lufthansa losing 0.8 percent to €10.89 and Air France-KLM closing down 2.8 percent at €13.25.

Technology were also down on worries that higher energy costs would mean less money to spend elsewhere. Infineon lost 0.6 percent to €7.90, while STMicroelectronics was down 0.9 percent to €13.55 and ASML dropped 1.6 percent to €13.69.

Ericsson fell 2.3 percent to SKr25.60, and Nokia was down 1 percent to €12.67.

In London equities markets on Thursday, the indexes were lower as crude oil prices rose once again.

The FTSE 200 dropped 0.4 percent to 5,255.7 and the FTSE 250 was down by 0.3 percent to 7,679.1 on a volume of 2.5 billion shares traded. Shares in companies that rely heavily on oil products were down.

British Airways fell 1.8 percent to 279 ½ p, while cruise operator Carnival lost 1 percent to £29.40.

Lloyds TSB traded nearly 70 million shares and was up by 4 percent at one point on the day as rumors floated that US bank Wells Fargo would acquire Lloyds, although Wells Fargo has not shown any inclination to acquire European banks. Lloyds ended the day up by 0.9 percent to 458¼p.

Also in the banking sector, the Royal Bank of Scotland lost 1.4 percent to £16.21 after ABN Amro repeated its rating of “reduce” on the bank.

In the leisure sector, Hilton declined by 2.3 percent to 298½p on the news that its Ladbrokes betting shops had sustained a recent series of bad results. In addition, Hilton reported that its hotels have seen falling demand, largely as a result of the July terrorist bombings in London. Still, the company’s interim profits were up.

Steelmaker Corus Group lost 1 percent to 44¼p despite higher interim profits, as it warned that third-quarter profits would be impacted by higher costs for raw materials and lower prices on its products.

The London equity markets were mixed on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 falling by 0.3 percent at the close to 5,300.2 even as the FTSE 250 added 0.2 percent to end the session at 7,707.4 on a volume of 2.4 billion shares traded.

British Airways lost 1.6 percent to 285 ¼p as analysts began to assess the damages to the air carrier incurred by the caterer’s walkout at Heathrow airport. One analyst said that BA could have its profits for the year cut by as much as £40 million.

Rolls Royce lost 0.1 percent to 341 ¼p after the announcement that it had won a joint contract worth $2.4 billion in conjunction with General Electric to develop new engines for the joint strike fighter, becoming part of the costliest military project in history.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Acambis gained 4.1 percent to 255p on the announcement that it has successfully concluded phase II trials on a treatment for Japanese Encephalitis.

In the mining sector, Antofagasta added 1.5 percent to £14.91 on the possibility of more merger and acquisition activity involving the Chilean miner in the wake of the death last week of its former chairman and largest shareholder. Another factor in the company’s advance was the raised interim profits forecasts for 2006, up 43 percent to $341 million due to record copper prices.

Volumes were light on European equities markets on Tuesday as many investors took summer holidays and as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost 0.6 percent to 1,186.73.

The pharmaceuticals sector was still feeling the fallout from last Friday’s jury verdict against Merck in the first Vioxx case to reach the US courts. Novo Nordisk lost 1.5 percent to DKr323.50 after a US rival reported success in clinical trials of a diabetes drug, which caused concerns that Novo Nordisk’s development of a similar product might be undermined.

Elsewhere in the sector, Sanofi-Aventis lost 1.6 percent to €70.65 and Novartis and Roche each declined by 1.1 percent. Novartis ended the session at SFr61.65, while Roche settled at SFr173.60.

Oil prices caused declines in both the oil sector and in sectors which use a great deal of oil products. In the oil sector, Eni dropped 2.1 percent to €23.47, Total lost 1.2 percent to €208.30, and Repsol YPF declined by
1 percent to €23.86.

Most companies in the automobile manufacturing sector were also down on the day. The exception was Fiat, which closed up 2.8 percent to €7.446 on the heels of Monday’s 3.3 percent gain. Elsewhere in the sector, Peugeot lost 1.2 percent to €51.80, DaimlerChrysler fell 1.3 percent to €42.14, Porsche closed 1.9 percent lower at €643.22.

In the airlines sector, Air France lost 2.4 percent to €13.62 and Lufthansa closed even at €11.09 after recovering from a decline earlier in the day.

The New York equities markets were mixed but generally lower on Thursday on light trade volumes and concerns about crude oil prices as one analyst said that since September 11, 2001, investors have had one thing after another to worry about.

At the close of the trading day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was very close to its Wednesday close at 10,552.46, while the Nasdaq composite lost 0.4 percent to 2,135.99 and the S&P 500 settled down by 0.1 percent to 1,218.72.

One of the biggest gainers on the day was Six Flags, the amusement park operator, which gained 18 percent to $6.48 when it’s largest investor announced that he wanted to triple his amount of shares in the company.

While Google announced that it will issue 14.2 million shares of its class A stock for sale, said to be worth around $4 billion, the internet search company’s shares were down 1.8 percent on the day to $279.99.

In the retail clothing sector, meanwhile, J. Crew announced that it will launch an initial public offering to raise $200 million. Elsewhere in the sector, Gap released its quarterly earnings report. In response, its shares lost 1.6 percent to $20.15.

Hot Topic, which sells teenage clothing, cut its forecasts for the third and fourth quarters after falling short of expectations in the second quarter. It lost 10.6 percent on the day to close at $14.14.

New York equities markets were down substantially on Tuesday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.14 percent to 10,513.45, the Nasdaq composite fell by 1.38 percent to 2,137.06, and the S&P 500 lost 1.18 percent to 1,219.34.

Shares in Wal-Mart were down by more than 3.3 percent at mid-afternoon to $47.50 on the news that while second quarter earnings had risen by 6 percent , the third-quarter outlook was not as good. The world’s largest retailer blamed this assessment on rising oil prices.

Elsewhere in the retail sector, Home Depot and Staples both reported much higher sales in the second quarter. Home Depot said it experienced a 20 percent rise in sales and a same-store sales increase of 4 percent. Office goods retailer Staples also said their sales were up 20 percent in the quarter, 1 percent better than analysts thought they would do. Still, shares in both companies were down. Home Depot lost 1.4 percent to $41.04, while Staples declined by 2.1 percent to $21.85.

In the airline sector, the Amex airline index gained 3.4 percent, its first increase after 11 straight declining sessions. Delta Air Lines gained 9.4 percent to $1.52, Northwest Airlines added 10.6 percent to $4.61, and SkyWest was up 11 percent to $24.46.

New York equities markets were up on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq composite, and the S&P 500 all saw gains by the end of the day.

The Dow ended the day up 0.3 percent to 10,634.38, while the Nasdaq was up 0.5 percent to close at 2,167.04 and the S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent to 1,233.87. Oil prices that fell slightly helped the gains.

In the media sector, there were rumors that Dow Jones, the owner of the Wall Street Journal, might be for sale. Shares in Dow Jones were up by as much as 15 percent during the day, but closed lower than that but at a gain for the day of 11 percent to $41.14. Time Warner added 1.4 percent to $18.50 on the news that four investors are planning to pressure the company’s board of directors to buy back $20 billion in stock and spin off its cable business.

In the airlines sector, unconfirmed reports in the New York Times that Delta Air Lines was arranging financing for bankruptcy protection sent the air carrier’s stocks plummeting 13.7 percent.

In London on Friday, the FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent to 5,345.8, but it saw a gain on the week of 0.6 percent. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 gained 0.1 percent on Friday to close at 7,705.8, notching an 0.3 percent gain on the week. Trade volume for the day reached 2.4 billion shares.

Mobile phone group O2 traded 130 million shares on the day, gaining 2.8 percent to a record high of 149 ½p on rumors that a consortium might offer 175p to 180p per share for the company. Rumors of takeover bids have centered on Dutch group KPN, Telefonica, and Deutsche Telekom, but all the named companies have disavowed the reports.

British Airways lost 0.8 percent to 290p on their need to cancel flights due to a dispute with contractors at Heathrow airport.

Oil shares fell despite continuing advances in the price of crude oil. Royal Dutch Shell “B” shares declined by 1.1 percent to £19.23. Meanwhile, oil exploration company Burren Energy lost 7.5 percent to 756 ½p on the news that it has agreed to reduce its stake in the M’Boundi oil field and exploration rights to the Kouilou permit are in the Congo, trading 10 percent of its 35 percent interest in the concern to SNPC, the state-owned oil company in the Congo, for $35 million. Oriel Securities cut Burren’s rating to “reduce” on the appearance that SNPC was getting the concession at a discount.

Fund manager Schroders gained 2.3 percent to 898.5p on reports that it will raise over $370 million in association with China’s Bank of Communications for the first fund of their joint venture in asset management.

The New York equities markets ended the day higher on Thursday despite crude oil prices that hit record levels Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day ahead by 0.9 percent at 10,685.89, the Nasdaq composite gained 0.8 percent to 2,174.55, and the S&P 500 was up 0.7 percent at 1,237.81.

The rise in oil prices didn’t help Delta Air Lines, which has been trying to avoid entering bankruptcy. Despite announcing that it will add larger aircraft on it’s New York to Boston and Washington shuttle routes, Delta lost 6.8 percent on the day to $1.79 amid expectations that it will file for bankruptcy soon.

Tivo fell 6.2 percent to $5.62 on the announcement by DirecTV Group that it will quit marketing Tivo digital video recorders this year and replace them with alternate technology from News Corp, which owns 34 percent of DirecTV. DirecTV’s shares fell slightly on the news, to $16.18.

News Corp itself gained 3.4 percent on the day to $18.03 after it announced a jump of 67 percent in its quarterly profits. Yahoo gained 2.2 percent to $34.94 after it said it would pay $1 billion in cash and trade its operations in China in exchange for 40 percent of Alibaba.com, the second-biggest internet auctioneer in China.

Semiconductor manufacturer Intel dropped 0.2 percent on a downgrade to “in-line” by Goldman Sachs.

The London equities markets were down on Thursday as insurance companies fell on warnings weak margins. The FTSE 100 fell 0.4 percent to 5,358.6, while the FTSE 250 lost 0.5 percent to 7,695.3 on a volume of 2.7 billion shares traded.

Aviva, the UK’s biggest insurance company, was down by 2 percent to 644p even though it reported results at the high end of expectations, as it issued a warning that margins in the UK life insurance sector were weak and as analysts said that the company was feeling some pressure to increase volume.

Royal & Sun Alliance fell even more, by 2.1 percent, to 92p as profit taking followed interim earnings results that met expectations. Elsewhere in the sector, Prudential lost 2.2 percent to 525p and Legal & General declined by 1.1 percent to 110 ½p.

In other sectors, British Airways was down 1.3 percent to 292 ¼p after it had to suspend check-ins at Heathrow in a dispute between the air carrier and a caterer.

Defense group BAE Systems gained 1 percent to 332p on an upgrade to “buy” from Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. More than 81 million shares in BAE were traded when Morgan Stanley placed over 30 million shares at 325 per share.

The mobile phone sector was higher after Morgan Stanley advised investors to put their money in Vodafone and O2 rather than in fixed-line company BT Group. O2 gained 0.9 percent to 145 ½p and Vodafone was up 0.5 percent to 147 ¾p.

In Europe on Wednesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.9 percent to 1,199.87.

The banking sector was especially active on the day. Commerzbank was up 8.3 percent to €21.70 on talk that it could become the target of a foreign takeover bid.

Among those seen as contenders for the German bank are France’s BNP Paribas and Spain’s Santander Central Hispano. Santander denied the reports, while Paribas said that it never comments on such rumors. BNP gained 1.2 percent to €61.05 and Santander was up 0.5 percent to €10.14.

Elsewhere in the banking sector, Unicredito added 2.5 percent to €4.615, while HVB was up 3 percent to €23.10.

In the airlines sector, Lufthansa gained 5.1 percent to €11.29 after it reported its full first-half data on earnings and WestLB confirmed their “outperform” rating for the air carrier.

In utilities, French company Suez added 5.8 percent to €24.90 after a rise of 7 percent on Tuesday on positive analyst sentiment regarding the news that Suez will buy the portion of Belgian electricity supplier Electrabel. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein rated Suez at “buy” and increased its price target from €20 to €26.

Decliners on the day included Bayer, which lost 1.2 percent to *30.09. Its quarterly report showed earnings up less than expected. Even so, the drugs and chemicals group raised its annual earnings forecast. Danish drugmaker Novo Norsk was also down, by 2.7 percent to DKr326, ahead of its quarterly report.

Investors on the New York equities markets didn’t seem bothered by the rise in interest rates introduced by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday.

This attitude, along with slightly lower crude oil prices and a report that labor costs in the US were being held to reasonable levels, helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq composite, and the S&P 500 to gains on the day.

The Dow closed up by 0.8 percent to 10, 615.67, the Nasdaq added 0.4 percent to 2,174.19, and the S&P was up 0.7 percent to 1,231.39.

Delta Air Lines had a bad day when Merrill Lynch issued a warning that climbing oil prices could be the factor that tips Delta into bankruptcy. Delta lost 12.6 percent on the day to close at $1.95.

Video and games rental company Blockbuster didn’t have an especially good day either after it reported quarterly losses that more than doubled expectations after trying to challenge competitor Netflix in the online-order DVD rental market. Blockbuster fell 11.5 percent on the day to $7.09, 75 percent lower than its highest price of $29.51, reached in May 2002. Netflix, meanwhile, saw a gain of 1.9 percent on the day to $21.34.

Cisco Systems, the internet equipment maker, did better, gaining 1.9 percent to $19.61 on anticipation of a good quarterly report which was due to be released after the close of trade.

Walt Disney, which was also set to report after trade closed on Tuesday, was up by 2.9 percent to $26.14.

In Europe on Monday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.6 percent to 1,181.34 after reaching up to 1,183.52 earlier in the day.

The telecommunications sector was mixed. Nokia gained 1.1 percent to €13.06 on rumors that US company Cisco Systems could be getting ready to bid for the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer. Nokia denied any knowledge of the reports.

Alcatel was up by 0.3 percent to €9.90, but Ericsson lost 0.4 percent to SKr26.20.

The oil sector was up substantially on new record high crude oil prices. Repsol was up by 1.8 percent to €23.42, total gained 1.3 percent to €208.70, and Eni advanced by 1.7 percent to €23.66. Norsk Hydro gained 2.5 percent to NKr643 and Statoil added 2.3 percent to NKr147.50 as the two companies announced that they would develop the Troll oil and gas field off Norway at a possible cost of $8 billion.

The airlines sector was up despite rises in oil prices. Air France-KLM gained 3.6 percent to €13.68 on a rise of 9.2 percent in passengers in July, while they filled 85.2 percent of their available seats, a record. Meanwhile, Germany’s Lufthansa was up 2.1 percent to €10.70 as it announced that July traffic was 6.8 percent higher than last year in July.

In other sectors, French luxury goods company Hermes lost 1.9 percent to €162.80 although it said its half-year sales were up. Adidas-Salomon fell by 2.4 percent to €151.40 on profit-taking after its large advance last week on news that it would purchase Reebok.

The stock markets in New York ended the day mixed as crude oil prices rode a roller coaster, more quarterly results rolled in, and one company shook everything up.

The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 0.1 percent to 10,697.59 and the S&P 500 also was up 0.1 percent to 1,245.03, but the Nasdaq composite lost 0.1 percent to 2,216.81.

The shake-up came as German company Adidas agreed to purchase Reebok, which sent shares in Reebok up by 30 percent to $57.14. When joined the two companies will form the world’s second-largest sporting goods company, smaller than only Nike. Nike gained 1.3 percent to $86.92 on the news.

The airline sector did not do nearly as well, with the Amex airline index falling 1.5 percent to close at 50.83. Delta Airlines fell 8.3 percent to $2.32, its lowest share value in 43 years, as investors worried that the carrier was getting closer to bankruptcy. Northwest Airlines declined nearly 8.6 percent to $4.37 on the news that union representatives had walked out on contract negotiations. Skywest lost 1.3 percent to $20.82.

Time Warner lost 0.9 percent to $17.27 on a quarterly report that showed its quarterly earnings falling on a $321 million loss that came in the wake of a $2.5 billion settlement in a securities fraud case filed by shareholders.

In Europe on Monday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost 0.3 percent to 1,160.62. The electronics sector had a bad day as Infineon was down 1 percent to €8.33 on news that one of its executives had been forced to resign amid accusations of corruption.

STMicroelectronics fell 1.6 percent to *14.53. Dutch firm Philips declined by 2.6 percent to €22.07 on a report that its second quarter profits were down by over one-half.

The automobile sector saw gains, however, as Fiat gained 1.1 percent to €6.50, while Porsche advanced by 2.4 percent to €673.50 as it announced its best first-half results ever. The Greek Athens General Index had a much better day, rising 1.7 percent to 3,171.55.

Gaming group Opap was up 4.8 percent to €22.50 after the government announced a sale of 52.45 million shares, 16.44 percent of the company, at €24.14 each.

Meanwhile, telecommunications company OTE gained 2.5 percent to €16.26 on news that the company, which is mostly owned by the Greek government, is getting ready to sell 13 percent of its shares, 9 percent of which will be publicly offered, with the remaining 4 percent being placed with OTE’s pension fund.

Four bombs were detonated at four different points in London’s transportation system during the morning rush hour on Thursday, leaving a reported 37 dead and more than 700 wounded. The attacks are being investigated as terrorist acts. A group claiming links to Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attacks and warned Italy and Denmark to withdraw their military forces from the Middle East. The claim, which one police official said had not been determined to be real, appeared on an Islamist website. Prime Minister Tony Blair, who left the G8 meeting in Scotland to deal with attacks, declared the intent of the British people to preserve their way of life and their values in the wake of the attacks.

The repercussions of the attacks on equities markets ranged far and wide. In London the FTSE 100 ended the day down 1.4 percent at 5,158.3 after a 4 percent drop earlier in the day. The FTSE 250 closed down 1.4 percent at 7,387.9. The volume of shares traded on the day was much higher than average at 4.6 billion shares. The news of the attacks in London prompted a broad-based sell-off, but by afternoon more limited losses in New York and the expectation that the attacks might prompt the Bank of England to cut interest rates helped the equities markets to recover somewhat from what had been a traumatic day. Analysts praised the resilience of the London markets and predicted that within a week they would be higher than current levels.

Almost all stocks on the FTSE 100 were lower on the day. Among those feeling the most effect from the bombings were travel-related sectors. Air carriers and cruise lines were down, as were hotel groups. British Airways lost 4.2 percent to 260 ¾p and EasyJet fell 3.8 percent to 254 ¼p, while airport operator BAA declined by 3.2 percent to 599p. Cruise operator Carnival fell 2.2 percent to £31.59. Hilton lost 3.3 percent to 288 ¼p, while InterContinental Hotels was down 2.8 percent to 701 ½p. Shares in companies touching on bus and train transport were down as well.

National Express, which bought the London bus division of Tellings Golden Miller just last month, lost 3.3 percent to 880p, while bus and train operator Go-Ahead Group was down 2.4 percent to £12.48. First Choice Holidays initially fell by 8.2 percent but recovered by the end of the day to a loss of 2.9 percent at 187 ¼p. Leisure companies with significant holdings in London also fell sharply. Ubrium, the nightclub operator, lost 4.3 percent to 770p, while Caffe Nero, the coffee shop operator, was down 2.9 percent to 187 ¼p.

Another sector seeing significant losses in the London markets was the insurance sector. Those firms had recovered much of their losses by the end of the day, however. Aviva closed down 2.2 percent at 611p after having fallen to 585p earlier. Prudential fell to 482½p before recovering to 502 ¼p at the close of trade, a decline of 1.9 percent. Gainers were few in London, and included pharmaceutical group Shine, which rose 0.2 percent to 620p, and Quadnetics Group, which supplies CCTV and video systems to London Transport. Shares in Quadnetics rose 1 percent to 242 ½p.

In the eurozone, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 saw an up and down day much like that in the London markets. The Eurofirst was down by 1.9 percent to 1,135.6 late in the trading day, but it had fallen as far as 1,107.49 earlier, down 4.3 percent. Again, the leisure and insurance sectors were the hardest hit, especially airline and travel stocks.

Tui, the world’s biggest travel agency, lost 2.3 percent to €20.59 even though a company officials said that it does not believe Thursday’s terrorist attacks in London will have a long-term effect on travel bookings. In the air travel sector, Lufthansa lost 2.3 percent to €9.95, Air France-KLM was down 1.3 percent to *12.42, Sweden’s SAS fell 1.5 percent to SKr64.25, and RyanAir lost 2.3 percent to *6.32.

European insurers were also down, with life insurers Aegon dropping 1.8 percent to €10.76 and Alleanza falling 2.7 percent to €8.77. Reinsurers did even worse, with Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, lost 2.4 percent to €87, even though it said it was not affected by the attacks in London. Other reinsures were down between 1.9 percent and 4.1 percent.

Energy stocks in the eurozone were down after the price of crude oil initially hit record highs after the attacks but subsequently fell by more than $5 per barrel on concerns about the impact of the attacks on air travel and economic growth. Royal Dutch was down 2.7 percent to €54.90, Norsk Hydro lost 2.9 percent to NKr619.50, and Statoil fell 2.1 percent to NKr140.50. Crude oil prices recovered most of those losses later in the day but still ended the day down.

US stocks initially dropped on the news of the London bombings, but then recovered as European stocks recovered some of their early losses as the day progressed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all ended the trading day in positive territory. The DIJA gained 0.3 percent to close at 10,302.29, the S&P 500 was up fractionally to 1,197.86, while the Nasdaq composite also gained 0.3 percent to close at 2,075.66. Early declines on the New York exchanges were about half of those experienced after the March 11, 2004 terrorist attacks in Madrid.

Another factor in the late recovery in New York involved the weekly report on first-time jobless claims in the US, which came in at just about the level expected. Still, as in London and in Europe, airlines and other travel-related stocks fell on the day. Delta Air Lines closed down 2.9 percent at $3.38, after recovering from a 10 percent drop in pre-opening trade. Meanwhile, Marriott International was off by 0.4 percent to $68.59.

The price of government bonds around the world surged, and yields fell, as investors looked for safe places to put their money after the events in London on Thursday morning.

In the UK, the 10-year gilt lost 8.3 basis points to yield 4.199percent at the close of trade. Earlier, yields on the 10-year gilt had fallen to a two-year low of 4.12 percent.

In the US, the 10-year Treasury bond was down, although not as much, losing 2.5 basis points to yield 4.049 percent, after falling to a yield of 3.96 percent earlier in the day. In the eurozone, the 10-year German Bund registered a loss of 3.6 basis points to yield 3.175 percent after bouncing back from an all-time low of 3.08 percent.

Trade was heaving at 1.4 million contracts in the eurozone. Some analysts said that as long as confidence remains high in Europe, the London attacks will not have an effect on the overall economic outlook for Europe.

In New York on Tuesday, the equities markets all finished in positive territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.1 percent to 10,405.63, the S&P 500 rose 0.9 percent to 1,201.57, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.2 percent to 2,069.89.

Factors spurring the advances included a decline in crude oil prices, news that the consumer confidence index and reached a 3-year high, and improvements in the labor market.

Airlines tended to show gains on the news that oil prices were declining. Delta Air Lines advanced 12.8 percent to $3.97, AMR gained 9.3 percent to $12.3, and Air Tran Holdings was up 6.1 percent to $9.47.

Some energy stocks fell as investors interpreted lower oil prices as a threat to profits. Amerada Hess was down 3.8 percent to $106.26, while Marathon Oil lost 2.9 percent to $53.96.

The technology sector got more than its share of attention on the equities markets on Tuesday as Advanced Micro Devices announced that it has filed a lawsuit against Intel.

The suit charges that Intel forced clients to buy their chips rather than AMD’s product.

While two investigations by the US Federal Trade Commission have been closed without finding any wrongdoing on Intel‘s part, AMD has filed a complaint of anti-competitive practices by Intel to the European Commission.

A ruling by the Fair Trade Commission in Japan found that Intel had violated anti-trust laws when it offered rebates to five Japanese companies if they would limit purchases of chips made by AMD.

After news of the lawsuit was released, AMD’s shares gained 6.3 percent to $17.70, and Intel’s stock were up by 1.8 percent to $26.33.