Belgium stocks higher at close of trade; BEL 20 up 0.59%

Investing.com – Belgium stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Utilities , Consumer Services and Healthcare sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Brussels, the BEL 20 gained 0.59% to hit a new 1-month high.

The best performers of the session on the BEL 20 were Galapagos NV (AS:GLPG ), which rose 3.54% or 0.94 points to trade at 27.46 at the close. Meanwhile, Umicore SA (EBR:UMI ) added 2.26% or 0.23 points to end at 10.18 and Argen-X (EBR:ARGX ) was up 1.80% or 10.80 points to 610.80 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Melexis NV (EBR:MLXS ), which fell 1.95% or 1.10 points to trade at 55.40 at the close. Solvay SA (EBR:SOLB ) declined 0.64% or 0.20 points to end at 30.96 and Syensqo SA (EBR:SYENS ) was down 0.47% or 0.33 points to 70.23.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Brussels Stock Exchange by 60 to 35 and 12 ended unchanged.

Shares in Argen-X (EBR:ARGX ) rose to all time highs; rising 1.80% or 10.80 to 610.80.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 1.24% or 32.84 to $2,673.84 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February rose 2.61% or 1.87 to hit $73.59 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract rose 2.30% or 1.72 to trade at $76.36 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.87% to 1.03, while EUR/GBP unchanged 0.24% to 0.83.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.77% at 109.13.

Source: Investing.com