Australia stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 up 0.04%

Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Utilities, Energy and IT sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.04%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Insignia Financial Ltd (ASX:IFL), which rose 13.72% or 0.31 points to trade at 2.57 at the close. Meanwhile, Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX:BGA) added 13.52% or 0.48 points to end at 4.03 and Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX:FBU) was up 9.01% or 0.30 points to 3.63 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:CUV), which fell 11.97% or 1.95 points to trade at 14.34 at the close. Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (ASX:TAH) declined 11.72% or 0.09 points to end at 0.64 and Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX:NEC) was down 6.93% or 0.13 points to 1.71.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 569 to 565 and 317 ended unchanged.

Shares in Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX:BGA) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 13.52% or 0.48 to 4.03. Shares in Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (ASX:TAH) fell to 3-years lows; losing 11.72% or 0.09 to 0.64. Shares in Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX:NEC) fell to 3-years lows; down 6.93% or 0.13 to 1.71.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 1.92% to 11.01.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.22% or 4.45 to $2,038.75 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April rose 0.32% or 0.25 to hit $78.16 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 0.29% or 0.24 to trade at $83.27 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.12% to 0.66, while AUD/JPY rose 0.08% to 98.56.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.10% at 103.81.