Belgian equities ended the trading day in positive territory on Thursday as gains across several sectors lifted the benchmark BEL 20. By the close in Brussels the index had advanced 0.56%, settling at a new record high.
Sector contributions were led by Consumer Services, Healthcare and Industrials, which together pushed the market higher in late trade. Market breadth on the Brussels exchange was negative in terms of counts: decliners outnumbered advancers 52 to 39, while 17 issues finished unchanged.
Top movers
The session's strongest performances on the BEL 20 included Anheuser Busch Inbev SA NV (EBR:ABI), which climbed 5.67% - an increase of 3.68 points - to close at 68.54. The brewer's share price also reached five-year highs during the session.
UCB SA (EBR:UCB) was another notable gainer, up 3.67% or 9.70 points to finish at 273.70; the stock moved to all-time highs on the rally. Solvay SA (EBR:SOLB) added 1.14%, gaining 0.32 points to end the day at 28.50.
Lagging names
On the downside, KBC Groep NV (EBR:KBC) led losses among major names, dropping 4.04% - a fall of 4.90 points - to close at 116.40. Umicore SA (EBR:UMI) declined 1.73% or 0.33 points to 18.80, and Montea C.V.A. (EBR:MONTE) slipped 1.62% or 1.20 points to 73.00.
Commodities and currencies
Commodity markets showed notable moves alongside equities. Gold futures for April delivery fell 2.53%, losing 128.90 to trade at 4,969.60 a troy ounce. Crude oil for March delivery declined 2.85% or 1.84 to $62.79 a barrel, while the April Brent contract decreased 2.75% or 1.91 to $67.49 a barrel.
In foreign exchange trading, EUR/USD was effectively flat, changing by 0.05% to 1.19, and EUR/GBP was likewise unchanged by 0.05% to 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures moved up 0.14% to 96.86.
Product offering note
Separately, a managed stock-picking product highlighted performance metrics for illustrative portfolios: year-to-date, two out of three global portfolios were reported as outperforming their benchmarks, with 88% of holdings in the green. The same product cited a flagship strategy that reportedly doubled the S&P 500 over an 18-month period, and listed prior winners including Super Micro Computer (+185%) and AppLovin (+157%). These figures were provided as part of the product description and marketing information.
Thursday's session left the BEL 20 at a fresh all-time high, supported by gains in consumer, healthcare and industrial names, while commodity weakness and a firmer dollar were notable cross-market developments.