Investing.com – Belgium equities were higher at the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Healthcare, Financials and Utilities sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in Brussels, the BEL 20 rose 0.13% to hit a new 52-week high.
The biggest gainers of the session on the BEL 20 were Aperam SA (AS:APAM), which rose 2.94% or 0.70 points to trade at 24.52 at the close. Sofina (EBR:SOF) added 2.15% or 4.60 points to end at 219.00 and Elia (EBR:ELI) was up 2.01% or 1.85 points to 94.05 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Melexis NV (EBR:MLXS), which lost 1.10% or 0.90 points to trade at 80.80 in late trade. Warehouses de Pauw Comm VA (EBR:WDPP) declined 1.07% or 0.28 points to end at 25.90 and Solvay SA (EBR:SOLB) shed 0.95% or 0.32 points to 33.51.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by 52 to 38 and 14 ended unchanged on the Brussels Stock Exchange.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.65% or 15.75 to $2,423.05 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in September rose 1.10% or 0.85 to hit $77.81 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 1.07% or 0.87 to trade at $81.88 a barrel.
EUR/USD was unchanged 0.02% to 1.08, while EUR/GBP unchanged 0.15% to 0.84.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.21% at 103.96.