Investing.com – Belgium equities were higher at the close on Thursday, as gains in the BEL Utilities Net Return, BEL Health Care Net Return and BEL Financials Net Return sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Brussels, the BEL 20 rose 0.65% to hit a new 52-week high.
The biggest gainers of the session on the BEL 20 were Argen-X (EBR:ARGX), which rose 3.43% or 14.70 points to trade at 443.70 at the close. UCB SA (EBR:UCB) added 2.63% or 3.85 points to end at 150.40 and Aperam SA (AS:APAM) was up 1.71% or 0.42 points to 24.94 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Melexis NV (EBR:MLXS), which fell 4.70% or 3.80 points to trade at 77.00 in late trade. Umicore SA (EBR:UMI) declined 2.06% or 0.29 points to end at 13.80 and Ageas (EBR:AGES) down 1.52% or 0.66 points to 42.76.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones by 62 to 29 and 12 ended unchanged on the Brussels Stock Exchange.
Shares in UCB SA (EBR:UCB) rose to all time highs; gaining 2.63% or 3.85 to 150.40.
Gold Futures for August delivery was down 2.34% or 56.50 to $2,359.20 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September rose 0.75% or 0.58 to hit $78.17 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 0.32% or 0.26 to trade at $81.97 a barrel.
EUR/USD was unchanged 0.22% to 1.09, while EUR/GBP unchanged 0.38% to 0.84.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.12% at 104.00.