Australia stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 up 0.39%

Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Financials, Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.39%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX:PBH), which rose 4.12% or 0.02 points to trade at 0.51 at the close. Meanwhile, Unibail Rodamco Westfield (ASX:URW) added 3.18% or 0.19 points to end at 6.16 and Charter Hall Group (ASX:CHC) was up 2.56% or 0.39 points to 15.62 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Omni Bridgeway Ltd (ASX:OBL), which fell 7.14% or 0.08 points to trade at 1.04 at the close. Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) declined 6.20% or 0.16 points to end at 2.42 and Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) was down 5.73% or 0.07 points to 1.07.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 571 to 510 and 429 ended unchanged.

Shares in Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) fell to 52-week lows; falling 6.20% or 0.16 to 2.42. Shares in Charter Hall Group (ASX:CHC) rose to 52-week highs; up 2.56% or 0.39 to 15.62.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 0.87% to 12.73.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.28% or 7.10 to $2,550.20 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October rose 0.39% or 0.27 to hit $69.42 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract rose 0.39% or 0.28 to trade at $72.97 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.19% to 0.67, while AUD/JPY fell 0.95% to 95.78.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.20% at 100.87.