Advancers

Amsterdam-listed Corus gained 6.6% as Tata Steel of India won the bidding war with CSN of Brasil. Expectations for consolidation in the sector are still high as the offer by Tata for Corus followed on closely from Mittal Steel buying Arcelor. Shares in Arcelor Mittal were up 1.5%, German ThyssenKrupp added 1.3%, Salzgitter rose 1.8% and Finnish stainless steel group Outokumpu gained 0.8%.

Banco Popolare di Verona e Novara advanced, despite weakness in the banking sector, after HSBC maintained its overweight position and raised its price target. Last week, the Bank of Italy cleared the proposed merger of BPVN with Banca Popolare Italiana. BPVN shares gained 1.3%, while BPI added 0.9%. Novo Nordisk, the Danish drugmaker, gained after reporting a 13% rise in full-year operating profits. The shares gained 0.9%.

Decliners

Financial stocks declined after several sessions of gains. Commerzbank of Germany fell 0.4% as its Polish division BRE Bank decided not to pay an annual dividend despite posting net income had more than doubled in 2006.

Infineon fell 2.4% after Goldman Sachs removed the German chipmaker from its conviction buy list after the stock recent strong performance. Carmakers were also lower, with Porsche off 1.7% and Peugeot down 2.5%.

Oil and gold

Oil prices declined Wednesday as the market awaited the weekly U.S. inventories report. Crude oil for March delivery fell 39 cents to $56.90 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for March delivery dipped 36 cents to $56.03 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London. Gold fell in London as the dollar gained against the euro. Gold for immediate delivery in London traded at $645.60 an ounce in early trade, down 0.3%.

Currencies

The US dollar traded at $1.2934 against the euro in early trade in London, from $1.2970 late yesterday in New York. The dollar was trading at 121.50 yen, down slightly from 121.62 yen late Tuesday in New York.