– Belgium stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Healthcare , Utilities and Banking sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Brussels, the BEL 20 added 0.50%.

The best performers of the session on the BEL 20 were Argen-X (EBR: ARGX ), which rose 4.02% or 21.40 points to trade at 553.60 at the close. Meanwhile, UCB SA (EBR: UCB ) added 3.38% or 5.55 points to end at 169.90 and Lotus Bakeries (EBR: LOTB ) was up 1.23% or 140.00 points to 11,560.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Solvay SA (EBR: SOLB ), which fell 3.16% or 1.01 points to trade at 30.91 at the close. Galapagos NV (AS: GLPG ) declined 2.88% or 0.74 points to end at 24.94 and Azelis Corporate Services NV (EBR: AZE ) was down 2.39% or 0.44 points to 17.96.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Brussels Stock Exchange by 46 to 45 and 16 ended unchanged.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.93% or 24.35 to $2,655.35 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January rose 0.01% or 0.01 to hit $69.25 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 0.05% or 0.04 to trade at $73.27 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.73% to 1.05, while EUR/GBP unchanged 0.36% to 0.83.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.62% at 106.80.