Monday saw the same story in Europe as was seen in the UK. Any gains made in the oil sector, due to potential action in Iraq were more than offset by falls from the TMT sector (technology, media and telecommunications). The German DAX 30 closed down over 0.5% and the French CAC 40 closed further down by almost 1%.
Tuesday saw low sales warnings from Nokia and Lucent, both telecommunication equipment makers. Markets fell lower for a second day, helped along by worse than expected news in the UK from the manufacturing sector. The Office for National Statistics reported that manufacturing output had fallen by a greater level than expected and was now down 6.1% for the year. By close of play the DAX 30 was down by 1.2%. The CAC 40 fared slightly better and closed down just short of 1%.
Wednesday was another bad day for European markets. Worse than expected figures from the US on retail sales figures pushed major indices down further. European indices did not follow the UK's gains today and the DAX 30 closed down just over 0.5%. The CAC 40 closed down 0.5%.
Thursday saw European markets close slightly higher for the day on the back of more positive news from the US. Although unemployment in the US was down, it was by a smaller amount than expected. Nevertheless, it was positive news. The DAX 30 closed up by 0.6% and the CAC 40 closed up 0.5% for the day.
Friday seemed to continue Thursday's gains in Europe and more good news from the US was seen. Two pieces of positive data were released. Firstly, the Consumer Sentiment Survey for March showed increased confidence on a higher level than expected. Secondly, a big increase in industrial production was seen, leading everyone to comment about the US economic recovery. By close of play, the DAX 30 was up by 2% and the CAC 40 managed almost 1%.