Australia stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 down 2.28%

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

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 2.28% to hit a new 1-month low.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Resolute Mining Ltd (ASX:RSG), which rose 3.64% or 0.01 points to trade at 0.29 at the close. Meanwhile, Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX:WGX) added 2.75% or 0.03 points to end at 0.94 and Origin Energy Ltd (ASX:ORG) was up 2.45% or 0.20 points to 8.35 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Insignia Financial Ltd (ASX:IFL), which fell 7.62% or 0.25 points to trade at 3.03 at the close. IGO Ltd (ASX:IGO) declined 7.24% or 1.00 points to end at 12.81 and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) was down 7.01% or 0.30 points to 3.98.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 898 to 359 and 352 ended unchanged.

Shares in Origin Energy Ltd (ASX:ORG) rose to 3-years highs; up 2.45% or 0.20 to 8.35.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 29.04% to 14.79 a new 3-months high.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.10% or 1.80 to $1,836.40 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April fell 0.85% or 0.64 to hit $75.08 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract fell 0.58% or 0.47 to trade at $81.12 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.11% to 0.66, while AUD/JPY rose 0.32% to 89.99.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.14% at 105.16.