Belgian shares finished the trading day with a small gain on Friday, with the benchmark BEL 20 rising 0.09% at the close in Brussels. Strength in the Consumer Services, Healthcare and Consumer Goods sectors provided the primary upward momentum for the market.
Top movers
The strongest performers on the BEL 20 were Anheuser Busch Inbev SA NV (EBR:ABI), Montea C.V.A. (EBR:MONTE) and Azelis Corporate Services NV (EBR:AZE). Anheuser Busch Inbev advanced 2.08% - a gain of 1.40 points - to finish at 68.82, reaching a five-year high on the session. Montea rose 1.69% or 1.30 points to close at 78.40, marking a 52-week high for the stock. Azelis added 1.57% or 0.13 points to end the day at 8.40.
Lagging names
On the downside, Syensqo SA (EBR:SYENS) led losses, dropping 11.28% or 6.15 points to close at 48.37, which represented an all-time low for the share price. Ackermans & Van Haaren NV (EBR:ACKB) fell 2.48% or 7.40 points to 290.60, while insurer Ageas (EBR:AGES) declined 1.10% or 0.70 points to 62.90.
Market breadth on the Brussels exchange favored risers, with 54 stocks closing higher, 40 declining and 14 finishing unchanged.
Commodities and currencies
In commodities trading, April Gold Futures rose 1.09% or 56.41 to trade at 5,250.61 US dollars per troy ounce. Crude oil for April delivery advanced 2.15% or 1.40 to reach 66.61 dollars a barrel, while the May Brent contract increased 2.16% or 1.53 to trade at 72.37 dollars a barrel.
Currency markets were relatively steady. The euro-dollar exchange rate moved 0.19% to 1.18, while the euro-pound rate changed 0.46% to 0.88. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.16% at 97.58.
Session context
Friday's session featured a mix of individual stock stories: a major consumer-oriented company pushed to multi-year highs, a logistics/property firm reached a one-year peak, while a smaller name recorded a new all-time low. Overall index movement was modest, with sector-level strength concentrated in consumer-facing industries as well as healthcare and consumer goods.
Investors crossing the Brussels order book saw that a limited number of large percentage moves in individual names contrasted with the relatively muted change in the headline index, reflecting the concentrated nature of the session's leadership and weakness.