In Europe on Tuesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.13 percent higher to 1,218.06, its highest level at the close of a session since May of 2002.

The automobile manufacturing sector was up as analysts said the sector would grow by 22 percent in 2005, well ahead of its prediction at the beginning of the year that it would grow by 10 percent.

Porsche gained 2.3 percent to €685, Volkswagen was up 3.1 percent to €47.22, and BMW advanced by 2.5 percent to €37.89 after Goldman Sachs upgraded it on Monday from “in line” to “outperform”.

DaimlerChrysler gained 2 percent to €41.95 after it announced that it has averted a strike with Canadian workers by coming to agreement on a three-year deal on wages.

French insurer AGF gained 1.9 percent to €78.55 while it’s German parent company, Allianz, was up 0.8 percent to €106.19.

Meanwhile Danish company Moller Maersk, the largest container shipping company in the world, lost 3.1 percent to DKr65,400 on a ratings cut from “buy” to “reduce” from UBS. UBS also lowered the company’s target price from DKr70,000 to DKr60,000, warning that freight flows were slowing down even as capacity was rising.

Meanwhile in Germany, the Xetra Dax gained 0.8 percent on the day to 4,962.86 after sharp losses on Monday in the wake of the outcome of Sunday’s elections there.

The Tokyo equities exchanges were down Wednesday morning amid profit-taking after earlier gains.

The Nikkei 225 fell 0.24 percent to 12,441.31, while the Topix index lost 0.35 percent to 1,267.59.

The steel sector as a whole lost 0.9 percent, and Nippon Steel lost 1.3 percent to ¥310.

Other sectors that saw losses included the insurance sector, down by 1.5 percent, the securities sector, which lost 1.2 percent, and the real estate sector, which declined by 1.1 percent.

The banking sector, which was a victim of profit taking before the other sectors, only fell by 0.3 percent.

There were sectors that saw gains, including retailers, which gained 0.1 percent, and the sea transport sector, which was up by 0.7 percent.

In the shipping sector, Mitsui OSK Lines gained 1 percent to ¥822 on a positive share outlook from UBS.

Camera maker Nikon lost 2.1 percent to ¥1,340 when Merrill Lynch lowered its rating from “buy” to “neutral”, saying that the company has neared its share price target and it cannot see any reason to raise that target.

Meanwhile, discount chain retailer Aoyama Trading gained 0.2 percent to ¥2,940 on the Osaka equities exchange.