European shares fell on Thursday, having hit a new 5-1/2-year high in intra-day trading, after mixed U.S. economic data took some of the shine off robust earnings from industrial group Siemens, among others, according to Reuters. The pan-European FTSEurofirst index of 300 leading shares closed unofficially at 1,467.10, a loss of 0.2 percent, having earlier risen to 1,473.43 -- its highest since May 2001. An unexpected dip in U.S. consumer sentiment and a larger-than-forecast rise in U.S. wholesale inventories rekindled worries about the health of the world's largest economy and sent the dollar lower against the euro. But some longer-term investors remained upbeat. "The dominant driver of share performance remains equities' low valuation," said Martin Wirth, a fund manager at Frankfurt Performance Management, which focuses on German equities. A recent announcement by a unit of German insurer Allianz of plans to raise its equity allocation was "a sign that institutional investors are beginning to see the equity market as an increasingly good bet for their money," he said. Siemens shares advanced 3 percent to 73.98 euros -- the highest since mid-May when leading stock market indexes worldwide tumbled amid concerns about global economic growth. Siemens's quarterly profits beat market expectations and news of a higher dividend was also well received. "The stock trades on a slight discount to the sector, which we believe is unjustified in light of end market exposure and margin expansion potential," said Dresdner Kleinwort, which has a price target of 82 euros and a "Buy" rating on Siemens. French oil company Total gained 1.6 percent, also its highest since mid-May, lifted by positive analyst comments a day after its third-quarter results beat market forecasts. "We continue to view Total as a good, low-risk core holding in the sector with an undemanding valuation versus the supermajors," JP Morgan said in a note.
