Investing.com – Belgium stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Consumer Goods, Healthcare and Utilities sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Brussels, the BEL 20 gained 0.27% to hit a new 1-month high.
The best performers of the session on the BEL 20 were Ontex Group (BR:ONTEX), which rose 2.22% or 0.70 points to trade at 32.50 at the close. Meanwhile, Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA (BR:ABI) added 0.99% or 1.10 points to end at 112.75 and Galapagos NV (AS:GLPG) was up 0.85% or 0.405 points to 48.050 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Ageas (BR:AGES), which fell 0.80% or 0.255 points to trade at 31.620 at the close. bpost NV (BR:BPOST) declined 0.73% or 0.17 points to end at 23.69 and Elia (BR:ELI) was down 0.71% or 0.340 points to 47.785.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Brussels Stock Exchange by 79 to 55 and 14 ended unchanged.
Gold for December delivery was down 0.17% or 2.25 to $1347.75 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September rose 1.89% or 0.82 to hit $44.31 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract rose 1.50% or 0.69 to trade at $46.73 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.27% to 1.1168, while EUR/GBP rose 0.57% to 0.8647.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.26% at 95.65.