Australia stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 up 0.38%

Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Healthcare, IT and Consumer Staples sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.38%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were GUD Holdings Ltd (ASX:GUD), which rose 14.87% or 1.52 points to trade at 11.74 at the close. Meanwhile, Nuix Ltd (ASX:NXL) added 10.00% or 0.15 points to end at 1.65 and Sims Metal Management Ltd (ASX:SGM) was up 6.30% or 0.94 points to 15.85 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Resolute Mining Ltd (ASX:RSG), which fell 4.41% or 0.02 points to trade at 0.32 at the close. St Barbara Ltd (ASX:SBM) declined 4.35% or 0.01 points to end at 0.22 and Seek Ltd (ASX:SEK) was down 4.27% or 1.10 points to 24.66.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 621 to 599 and 425 ended unchanged.

Shares in GUD Holdings Ltd (ASX:GUD) rose to 52-week highs; rising 14.87% or 1.52 to 11.74. Shares in Nuix Ltd (ASX:NXL) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 10.00% or 0.15 to 1.65. Shares in St Barbara Ltd (ASX:SBM) fell to 5-year lows; falling 4.35% or 0.01 to 0.22.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 2.81% to 11.40.

Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.40% or 7.70 to $1,936.30 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September fell 0.35% or 0.29 to hit $82.22 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract fell 0.24% or 0.21 to trade at $86.00 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.14% to 0.65, while AUD/JPY fell 0.07% to 94.36.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.08% at 102.97.