Australia stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 down 1.46%

Investing.com – Australia stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Energy, Resources and Metals&Mining sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.46% to hit a new 1-month low.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were St Barbara Ltd (ASX:SBM), which rose 4.35% or 0.03 points to trade at 0.60 at the close. Meanwhile, Auckland International Airport Ltd (ASX:AIA) added 2.75% or 0.22 points to end at 8.23 and Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX:GOR) was up 2.63% or 0.04 points to 1.56 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were IPH Ltd (ASX:IPH), which fell 10.61% or 0.89 points to trade at 7.50 at the close. NRW Holdings Ltd (ASX:NWH) declined 8.15% or 0.19 points to end at 2.14 and Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX:FBU) was down 7.38% or 0.31 points to 3.89.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 985 to 337 and 322 ended unchanged.

Shares in Auckland International Airport Ltd (ASX:AIA) rose to 3-years highs; gaining 2.75% or 0.22 to 8.23. Shares in Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX:FBU) fell to 52-week lows; falling 7.38% or 0.31 to 3.89.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 7.43% to 15.44.

Gold Futures for April delivery was down 0.46% or 8.80 to $1,922.50 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April rose 0.61% or 0.41 to hit $68.02 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract rose 0.72% or 0.53 to trade at $74.22 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.66% to 0.67, while AUD/JPY rose 0.33% to 88.53.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.19% at 104.08.