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Belgian stocks

take lead from

Wall Street

BRUSSELS: Belgian stocks will take their lead from Tuesday's performance on Wall Street, dealers say, but any swing in either direction by the Dow Jones index will be diluted by the time it is translated into the Bel-20.

"If Wall Street makes a recovery, we will make smaller one... if it falls again, we will make a smaller fall," said one dealer.

Although most analysts see the short-term trend as slightly down, dealers say the market needs just a bit more buying interest to change direction.

"There was some buying interest on Tuesday - it kept us higher at the beginning - but it fell off," said one dealer. "Look at the volumes," he added, after a day's trade in which just 1.3 billion francs worth of shares changed hands.

Last month, around 4.1 billion francs worth of shares changed hands every day - the highest volume in eight years.

The Bel-20 index closed at 1,686.85 francs on Tuesday, down 5.37 points or 0.32 percent, but off day lows set soon after the market opened.

The market fell nearly one percent at one point, but never looked like following the bond market's more dramatic decline.

Utility holding company Powerfin, whose parent company Tractebel arranged a share deal with engineering holding company Fimeuse, showed well, rising 2.4 percent to 4,100 francs.

The Bel-20 index stocks showed five gainers and two unchanged.-Reuter