After 20 years of stagnation, European stocks have finally broken out to fresh all-time highs . . . or have they? Well, it’s true the Euro Stoxx 600 has finally staged a breakout. The index topped out at about the 400 level in 2000, 2007 and 2015, going on to suffer unsettling declines on each occasion.

It hovered at about the same level for much of the last three years before breaking out finally in December, since when it has continued to hit new highs. However, the large-cap Euro Stoxx 50 – the most widely-traded European index – isn’t anywhere near all-time highs, sitting more than 30 per cent below its dotcom peak set 20 years ago.

Germany’s Dax index is indeed at record levels, although returns are nowhere as impressive as the charts indicate. Unlike most indices, the Dax is a total return index that includes the reinvestment of all dividends.

In Ireland, the Iseq remains some 30 per cent below its 2007 peak, while the main indices in France, Spain and Italy also sit way below record highs set many moons ago. Whatever index one follows, European investors can only hope the next 20 years prove kinder.