Belgian stocks closed lower on Monday, with the BEL 20 index ending the session down 0.59% in Brussels. The market retreat was driven primarily by weakness in the Healthcare, Industrials and Technology sectors, which weighed on the overall index.
Leading individual performers
- Azelis Corporate Services NV (EBR:AZE) outperformed on the day, climbing 1.30% or 0.16 points to finish at 12.43.
- D'Ieteren NV (EBR:IETB) advanced 1.19% or 2.10 points to close at 178.70.
- Ageas (EBR:AGES) rose 1.00% or 0.75 points to end the session at 75.50, a level noted as a five-year high.
Largest decliners
- Argen-X (EBR:ARGX) led the losers, dropping 2.19% or 19.60 points to settle at 875.60.
- Ackermans & Van Haaren NV (EBR:ACKB) fell 2.08% or 5.80 points to close at 273.40.
- Warehouses de Pauw Comm VA (EBR:WDPP) declined 1.59% or 0.34 points to end at 21.00.
Market breadth in Brussels tilted negative, with 54 stocks falling versus 36 advancing, while 13 issues finished unchanged. That distribution reflected the heavier selling pressure across several sectors, particularly Healthcare, Industrials and Technology.
Commodities and foreign exchange
Commodity markets showed mixed movements at the close. Gold futures for December delivery fell 1.11% or 50.30 to $4,479.60 per troy ounce. In contrast, crude oil prices moved higher: the October contract for U.S. crude rose 2.42% or 2.02 to $85.42 a barrel, while the December Brent contract increased 4.87% or 4.19 to trade at $90.31 a barrel.
On the currency front, EUR/USD was essentially unchanged at 1.16, moving 0.28%, while EUR/GBP was also stable at 0.86, changing by 0.16%. Separately, the U.S. Dollar Index futures were lower by 0.27% at 99.39.
The session featured a mix of sector and commodity dynamics: declines in key domestic sectors on the Belgian exchange coincided with a weaker gold price and firmer crude oil benchmarks. Individual stock performance diverged, with several names posting modest gains while others posted more pronounced losses.