Australia stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 up 1.10%

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

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 added 1.10%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Appen Ltd (ASX:APX), which rose 16.73% or 0.22 points to trade at 1.50 at the close. Meanwhile, Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (ASX:TAH) added 11.11% or 0.05 points to end at 0.45 and Resolute Mining Ltd (ASX:RSG) was up 8.59% or 0.06 points to 0.69 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX:NEC), which fell 3.21% or 0.04 points to trade at 1.21 at the close. Spark New Zealand Ltd (ASX:SPK) declined 2.81% or 0.09 points to end at 3.11 and Nanosonics Ltd (ASX:NAN) was down 2.76% or 0.10 points to 3.52.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 715 to 386 and 416 ended unchanged.

Shares in Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) rose to 52-week highs; up 16.73% or 0.22 to 1.50. Shares in Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX:NEC) fell to 3-years lows; falling 3.21% or 0.04 to 1.21. Shares in Spark New Zealand Ltd (ASX:SPK) fell to 5-year lows; losing 2.81% or 0.09 to 3.11. Shares in Resolute Mining Ltd (ASX:RSG) rose to 3-years highs; up 8.59% or 0.06 to 0.69.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 2.37% to 12.22.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.22% or 5.50 to $2,547.90 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October rose 1.31% or 0.88 to hit $68.19 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract rose 1.37% or 0.97 to trade at $71.58 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.28% to 0.67, while AUD/JPY rose 0.35% to 95.44.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.05% at 101.71.