(Updates with full report)
BRUSSELS (AFX) - Shares closed higher, boosted by Wall Street gains, with supermarket group Delhaize leading the blue chips, analysts said.
At the close, the Bel 20 was up 30.46 points or 0.73 pct at 4,174.85.
Delhaize was up 1.10 eur or 2.19 pct at 60.55 eur.
Utility Suez was up 0.42 eur or 1.16 pct at 36.59 eur.
For the heavyweight financials, KBC Group was up 0.70 eur or 0.81 pct at 86.65 eur amid speculation about its intentions as Belgian financial daily De Tijd said the Slovenian finance minister Andrej Bajuk said the government may cut its stake in Nova Ljubljanska Banka to 25 pct.
KBC currently owns 34 pct and may wish to increase this, the newspaper said.
'The reduction... by the Slovenian government might provide KBC with the opportunity to increase its stake in the company to a majority stake,' said analyst Ivan Lathouders at Bank Degroof.
He added that he expects a 'positive message' at the group's Prague investor day on Thursday.
Peer Fortis was up 0.16 eur or 0.52 pct at 30.72 eur and Dexia dipped 0.01 eur or 0.05 pct to 20.49 eur.
Holding group Nationale a Portefeuille was down 0.33 eur or 0.71 pct at 46.32 eur.
Brewer InBev fell 0.06 eur or 0.12 pct to 48.75 eur.
Outside the Bel 20, wireless technology company Option rose 0.22 eur or 2.12 pct to 10.60 as analysts responded positively to the unveiling of its new wireless data card Globetrotter 7.2 and the release of a faster version of its existing Icon card.
'These announcements underline Option's technical lead in their core market and provide additional visibility into the fourth quarter and 2007 sales targets,' said Dexia analyst Peter Vanassche in a note to clients.
He kept his 'buy' rating and 15 eur target price on the stock.
'It is important to highlight that Option's launch of a faster Icon device could be interpreted as an answer to Huawei's entry into this market,' added Rodolphe Blondiau at ING Securities. simon.zekaria@afxnews.com sz/jsa/sz/hjp COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited
© 2006 AFX News
