Belgian equities finished the session higher on Friday, with the benchmark BEL 20 index climbing 0.71% to reach a new one-month high at the close in Brussels. The advance was driven by sector strength in Basic Materials, Technology and Healthcare.
Among the headline movers on the BEL 20, Solvay SA (EBR:SOLB) led the gains, finishing up 3.13% - a rise of 0.86 points - to close at 28.38. Melexis NV (EBR:MLXS) also posted a strong performance, adding 3.07% or 1.70 points to end the day at 57.05. Syensqo SA (EBR:SYENS) recorded a 1.95% increase, up 1.00 point to finish at 52.30 in late trade.
On the downside, Elia (EBR:ELI) was the weakest among the main names, slipping 0.86% or 1.20 points to close at 138.70. Warehouses de Pauw Comm VA (EBR:WDPP) declined 0.66%, a fall of 0.16 points, to end at 24.04. Ackermans & Van Haaren NV (EBR:ACKB) finished down 0.28% or 0.80 points at 282.60.
Market breadth on the Brussels Stock Exchange favored advancing issues, with 69 stocks higher versus 26 that declined, while 12 ended unchanged.
Commodities and major contract moves at the close included a drop in Gold Futures for June delivery, which fell 0.83% or 40.16 to $4,777.84 a troy ounce. In energy markets, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 1.44% or 1.41 to $99.28 a barrel, and the June Brent oil contract increased 1.37% or 1.31 to trade at $97.23 a barrel.
In currency markets, EUR/USD was unchanged, moving 0.19% to 1.17, while EUR/GBP was also unchanged, at 0.87 following a 0.02% change. The US Dollar Index Futures finished down 0.10% at 98.49.
The market close left the BEL 20 higher on the day and at a one-month peak, with a handful of large-cap names responsible for much of the index's advance and energy and precious metals contracts showing notable directional moves into the settlement.