Before the bell: Bel20 briefly becomes Bel5000

For the first time in its history, the Bel20 crossed the 5,000-point mark on Thursday. Meanwhile, in the United States, investors are dumping bank stocks en masse.

For the first time in more than 19 years, Belgium’s benchmark index set a new thousand-point record, closing at 5,010 points. The rally in UCB (+33%) and KBC (+37%) this year pushed the index to its new all-time high. On Wall Street, however, financials and regional banks came under heavy pressure. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF fell 6.2% after the bankruptcies of two major auto-loan lenders raised concerns about U.S. credit quality. Jefferies (-10.6%) has already lost 25.6% in October, marking its worst month since March 2020. Bank of America (-3.5%) and JPMorgan (-2.3%) also joined the sell-off.

In Asia, TSMC (-2%) couldn’t benefit from its record quarterly profit, as ongoing macro-economic worries about the trade war weighed on sentiment. The Hang Seng Index fell 1.8% this morning, with Alibaba down 3.5% in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, gold reached a new record high of 4,361 dollar per ounce. German tyre manufacturer Continental beat analysts’ profit expectations. Later today, results are due from American Express and Huntington Bancshares.

Golden years over for logistics real estate?

The days when investors were willing to pay a hefty premium for logistics real estate are long gone. Back in 2022, WDP traded at a 100% premium to the net asset value of its properties. Logistics real estate was all the rage then — the sky seemed the limit. A few years later, WDP is still performing excellently, but that premium has vanished. Investors were somewhat concerned after a dip in occupancy rates last quarter, though the figure improved slightly from 97.3% to 97.4%. The challenge lies mainly in large warehouses, where demand is weaker than for smaller ones. Even so, WDP is doing well, with recurring net profit up 8%. The group is expected to earn 1.53 euro per share this year. The stock closed yesterday at 22 euro per share.

Which broker is best?

Who’s the best broker in Belgium? There isn’t one simple answer. I started my career at KBC Securities Bolero in 2014. When it came to education and research (I helped write for the Academy), no broker could match it back then. But in terms of pricing, the Dutch player Degiro began taking the lead. As of 2025, I personally think Saxo ranks among the best brokers in Belgium, thanks to its low fees and wide range of trading options. But globally? There’s no contest: Interactive Brokers. Its fees are among the lowest in the industry, you can trade almost anything, and Lynx and MeXeM actually run on its platform. The company itself is thriving. Investors will be watching today after Interactive Brokers reported earnings per share of 0.57 dollar, above expectations of 0.53 dollar, and revenue of 1.66 billion dollar, about 140 million higher than forecast. (By the way, Spaarvarkens members can get exclusive benefits when opening an account with certain brokers.

Did you know…

Back in early 2023, the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF halved in just a few months after several regional banks collapsed, triggering panic selling among investors in smaller U.S. banks.

This article was translated from Dutch and was originally published on Spaarvarkens.be.