Australia stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 down 0.79%

Investing.com – Australia stocks were lower after the close on Monday, as losses in the Energy, Consumer Staples and Financials sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.79% to hit a new 52-week low.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX:WGX), which rose 6.57% or 0.13 points to trade at 2.11 at the close. Meanwhile, Kogan.com Ltd (ASX:KGN) added 3.26% or 0.14 points to end at 4.44 and Resolute Mining Ltd (ASX:RSG) was up 2.82% or 0.01 points to 0.37 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were St Barbara Ltd (ASX:SBM), which fell 13.33% or 0.03 points to trade at 0.19 at the close. IGO Ltd (ASX:IGO) declined 9.01% or 0.96 points to end at 9.69 and Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX:SGR) was down 8.40% or 0.05 points to 0.55.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 733 to 506 and 348 ended unchanged.

Shares in Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX:WGX) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 6.57% or 0.13 to 2.11. Shares in IGO Ltd (ASX:IGO) fell to 52-week lows; down 9.01% or 0.96 to 9.69. Shares in Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX:SGR) fell to all time lows; down 8.40% or 0.05 to 0.55.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 3.15% to 14.44.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.32% or 6.35 to $2,004.85 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December fell 1.77% or 1.51 to hit $84.03 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 1.52% or 1.36 to trade at $87.84 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.36% to 0.64, while AUD/JPY rose 0.08% to 95.08.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.07% at 106.45.