Investing.com – Belgium equities were higher at the close on Thursday, as gains in the Utilities, Telecoms and Basic Materials sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in Brussels, the BEL 20 gained 0.26% to hit a new 1-month high.
The biggest gainers of the session on the BEL 20 were Engie SA (PA:ENGIE), which rose 2.26% or 0.30 points to trade at 13.81 at the close. Proximus NV (BR:PROX) added 2.06% or 0.41 points to end at 20.10 and Ontex Group (BR:ONTEX) was up 1.80% or 0.46 points to 25.96 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Anheuser Busch Inbev SA NV (BR:ABI), which lost 4.06% or 3.70 points to trade at 87.33 in late trade. Argen-X (BR:ARGX) declined 2.32% or 1.90 points to end at 79.90 and Ageas (BR:AGES) shed 0.22% or 0.100 points to 44.970.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 76 to 32 and 22 ended unchanged on the Brussels Stock Exchange.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for August delivery was down 0.48% or 5.90 to $1225.90 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in September rose 0.58% or 0.40 to hit $69.70 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 0.77% or 0.57 to trade at $74.50 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.57% to 1.1661, while EUR/GBP fell 0.06% to 0.8887.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.49% at 94.44.