In Europe on Friday, the FTSE Eurofirst 500 fell by 0.3 percent to 1,192.75, but it still managed to post a gain of 1.6 percent on the week and reached its highest level since May 2002 on Wednesday.

Oil stocks were some of the biggest performers of the week, riding rising oil prices to their gains. Neste Oil gained 8.5 percent on the week to €25, while OMV added 5.8 percent to €40.75.

The best performer of the week, however, was in the utilities sector, as Suez gained 12 percent for the week to €24.59 as it announced that it would buy out the portion of Electrabel, the Belgian electricity supplier, that it does not already own.

Electrabel saw a gain of 7 percent to €415.60 on the news even though the cash-and-shares deal will have to gain support from both shareholders and the government in Belgium.

Another big winner on the week was Commerzbank, Germany’s third largest bank, on rumors that both Santander Central Hispano in Spain and BNP Paribas are both interested in bidding for the bank. Even though neither institution would confirm such plans, Commerzbank still gained 7.2 percent to €21.09 on the week.