Pan-European equities settled near five-year highs yesterday, supported by robust trading updates from carmaker Volkswagen and Norwegian conglomerate Orkla, among others.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index initially rose 0.6 per cent to hit a fresh five-year high of 1,296.37 points, before edging back to close flat at 1,287.57 points, with the index up by some three per cent since the start of October.

The euro zone’s blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index slipped 0.3 per cent to 3,040.69 points while Germany’s DAX fell 0.1 per cent to 9,010.27 points, having earlier hit a fresh record high of 9,070.17 points.

Some traders said that on a short-term view, the equity market may slip back some one per cent by the end of this week as traders look to cash in on October’s rally.

But others focused on a longer-term bullish view on equity markets, forecasting a rally into the end of 2013.

Volkswagen and Orkla were among the top risers on the FTSEurofirst 300 index after reporting figures that were either in line with or better than market expectations.

Volkswagen rose 5.6 per cent after unveiling record sales at premium brands Audi and Porsche that confounded many investors who had bet on a weak quar- terly report.

Rupert Baker, a European equity sales executive at Mirabaud Securities, said European companies were having to cope with the impact of a fall in the US dollar against the euro, which could hit exports, but added that generally speaking their underlying third quarter results looked solid.

According to Thomson Reuters StarMine data, 53 per cent of companies on the pan-European STOXX 600 index have posted third-quarter results that have either met or beaten market forecasts.

“There is a currency headwind but the underlying earnings look robust enough,” Baker said.

With markets such as the DAX at record highs, some said now was a good time to trim back equity positions to cash in. The FTSEurofirst 300 is up 14 per cent since the start of 2013 while the DAX has risen 19 per cent.

Richard Edwards, who runs trading and research firm HED Capital, backed selling into rallies on the Spanish, Italian and French stock markets.

Darren Courtney-Cook, head of trading at Central Markets Investment Management, added there could be a one per cent pullback on the DAX before the end of the week as traders look to cash in on some equity holdings before the end of October. (Reuters)