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

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

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

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Polynovo Ltd (ASX:PNV), which rose 23.21% or 0.34 points to trade at 1.80 at the close. Meanwhile, Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) added 7.17% or 0.70 points to end at 10.46 and Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX:PBH) was up 6.37% or 0.13 points to 2.17 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Appen Ltd (ASX:APX), which fell 11.71% or 0.39 points to trade at 2.94 at the close. Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX:MFG) declined 8.43% or 0.99 points to end at 10.75 and Zip Co Ltd (ASX:ZIP) was down 7.38% or 0.06 points to 0.69.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 680 to 587 and 364 ended unchanged.

Shares in Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) fell to 5-year lows; down 11.71% or 0.39 to 2.94. Shares in Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) rose to all time highs; up 7.17% or 0.70 to 10.46. Shares in Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX:MFG) fell to 5-year lows; losing 8.43% or 0.99 to 10.75.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 0.08% to 18.98.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.67% or 11.45 to $1,732.25 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November rose 0.36% or 0.32 to hit $88.08 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract rose 0.42% or 0.39 to trade at $93.76 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.34% to 0.65, while AUD/JPY rose 0.31% to 94.10.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.13% at 110.87.