Belgian stocks finished higher on Wednesday in Brussels, with the BEL 20 advancing 0.22% to register a new all-time closing high.
Sector strength was concentrated in Consumer Services, Utilities and Telecoms, which underpinned the session's upward bias. Market participants pushed a number of large-cap names higher, although the advance was accompanied by a nearly even split between gainers and losers across the exchange.
Top movers
- Elia (EBR:ELI) led the index, climbing 3.26% - an increase of 4.10 points - to close at 130.00. The move took the stock to 52-week highs.
- Anheuser Busch Inbev SA NV (EBR:ABI) rose 2.17% or 1.38 points, finishing at 64.86. The stock reached a three-year high on the session.
- Lotus Bakeries (EBR:LOTB) added 1.32% - a gain of 140.00 points - to end trading at 10,720.00.
Lagging names
- Azelis Corporate Services NV (EBR:AZE) was the largest decliner on the BEL 20, slipping 2.98% or 0.30 points to close at 9.77.
- Melexis NV (EBR:MLXS) fell 1.57% - a decline of 0.90 points - to finish at 56.50.
- Umicore SA (EBR:UMI) dropped 1.24% or 0.24 points to end the session at 19.13.
On the Brussels exchange, advancing issues narrowly outnumbered decliners by 46 to 43, while 18 stocks finished unchanged.
Commodities and FX
Precious metals and energy prices moved higher during the session. Gold Futures for April delivery were up 1.32% or 66.24 to $5,097.24 a troy ounce. In energy markets, Crude oil for March delivery increased 1.63% or 1.04 to $65.00 a barrel, while the April Brent contract rose 1.51% or 1.04 to trade at $69.84 a barrel.
Currency pairs showed only modest change. EUR/USD was recorded effectively unchanged at a move of 0.08% to 1.19, while EUR/GBP registered no material change at 0.13% to 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures ticked up 0.02% to 96.69.
This close reflects a market where selective sector strength and a few notable individual stock moves pushed the benchmark to a fresh record, even as overall breadth remained narrow and commodity benchmarks climbed during the trading session.