Belgian equities finished the trading session in negative territory on Wednesday, with the national blue-chip index retreating amid sector weakness.
At the close in Brussels, the BEL 20 was down 1.35% as declines in the Healthcare, Consumer Goods and Consumer Services sectors exerted downward pressure on the market.
On an individual-stock basis, Umicore SA (EBR:UMI) was among the better performers, ending the session up 0.23% - an increase of 0.04 points to 17.26. Solvay SA (EBR:SOLB) recorded a modest gain of 0.08%, adding 0.02 points to finish at 25.76. KBC Groep NV (EBR:KBC) closed flat at 110.75, showing no net change in the session.
At the other end of the leaderboard, Sofina (EBR:SOF) experienced the steepest decline, sliding 5.05% or 12.00 points to close at 225.60. UCB SA (EBR:UCB) fell 3.61%, a drop of 9.50 points to 253.80, while Syensqo SA (EBR:SYENS) declined 2.14% or 1.04 points, finishing at 47.58.
Market breadth was tilted to the downside on the Brussels Stock Exchange, where 63 issues fell, 30 rose and 13 ended unchanged.
Notably, shares of Syensqo SA (EBR:SYENS) reached an all-time low in the session, falling 2.14% to 47.58.
Commodities and foreign exchange markets showed mixed moves alongside equity weakness. Gold futures for April delivery were lower by 1.07%, down 56.29 to trade at 5,185.81 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for April delivery climbed 4.11% or 3.43 to reach $86.88 a barrel, while the May Brent contract rose 4.56% or 4.00 to trade at $91.80 a barrel.
In currency markets, EUR/USD was essentially unchanged at 1.16, moving 0.31% in the session, and EUR/GBP was flat at 0.86 with a change of 0.27%. The US Dollar Index Futures ended higher, up 0.40% at 99.20.
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