Australia stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 down 1.54%

Investing.com – Australia stocks were lower after the close on Tuesday, as losses in the IT, A-REITs and Consumer Discretionary sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.54% to hit a new 1-month low.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX:WGX), which rose 13.25% or 0.10 points to trade at 0.86 at the close. Meanwhile, Perenti Global Ltd (ASX:PRN) added 4.17% or 0.05 points to end at 1.25 and Steadfast Group Ltd (ASX:SDF) was up 2.06% or 0.11 points to 5.44 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX:PBH), which fell 13.03% or 0.22 points to trade at 1.44 at the close. Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX:SGR) declined 9.43% or 0.20 points to end at 1.92 and Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX:DHG) was down 9.12% or 0.26 points to 2.59.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 949 to 314 and 370 ended unchanged.

Shares in Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX:PBH) fell to 52-week lows; down 13.03% or 0.22 to 1.44. Shares in Perenti Global Ltd (ASX:PRN) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 4.17% or 0.05 to 1.25. Shares in Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX:SGR) fell to 52-week lows; down 9.43% or 0.20 to 1.92. Shares in Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX:DHG) fell to 52-week lows; falling 9.12% or 0.26 to 2.59.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 11.90% to 13.68.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.30% or 5.45 to $1,803.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February fell 0.17% or 0.13 to hit $75.25 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract fell 0.16% or 0.13 to trade at $79.67 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.66% to 0.67, while AUD/JPY fell 3.62% to 88.39.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.36% at 103.97.