Australia stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 up 0.03%

Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the A-REITs, Utilities and Metals&Mining sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.03%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX:MFG), which rose 13.26% or 1.22 points to trade at 10.42 at the close. Meanwhile, Abacus Property Group (ASX:ABG) added 10.19% or 0.11 points to end at 1.19 and Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) was up 7.28% or 1.52 points to 22.40 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX:SUL), which fell 6.85% or 0.94 points to trade at 12.78 at the close. Codan Ltd (ASX:CDA) declined 6.14% or 0.51 points to end at 7.79 and Growthpoint Properties Australia (ASX:GOZ) was down 5.53% or 0.14 points to 2.39.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 681 to 565 and 400 ended unchanged.

Shares in Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 7.28% or 1.52 to 22.40. Shares in Growthpoint Properties Australia (ASX:GOZ) fell to 3-years lows; down 5.53% or 0.14 to 2.39.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 1.88% to 12.27.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.39% or 7.55 to $1,922.75 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September fell 0.05% or 0.04 to hit $80.35 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract fell 0.14% or 0.12 to trade at $84.00 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.01% to 0.64, while AUD/JPY fell 0.48% to 92.94.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.14% at 103.32.