Australian equities finished lower on Thursday, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 ending the day down 0.23% as sector-level weakness in IT, Financials and Gold pushed the index into the red.
The index closed at 8,633.20, a decline of 20.10 points, and overall market participation skewed toward sellers: 656 stocks fell versus 492 that advanced, while 422 were unchanged.
Top performers
- Tuas Ltd (ASX:TUA) led gains on the S&P/ASX 200, rising 6.27% or 0.16 points to close at 2.71.
- CSL Ltd (ASX:CSL) added 4.73% or 4.87 points to finish at 107.82.
- Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX:LTR) climbed 4.46% or 0.09 points to end the session at 1.99.
Lagging stocks
- Alcoa Corp DRC (ASX:AAI) was the weakest component, dropping 8.19% or 8.39 points to close at 94.05.
- Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX:NIC) fell 4.43% or 0.04 points to 0.92.
- Nextdc Ltd (ASX:NXT) declined 4.36% or 0.66 points to finish at 14.48.
Volatility and market signals
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, a gauge of implied volatility for index options, eased 0.48% to 13.15, indicating a slight reduction in implied near-term volatility for the index.
Commodities and currencies
In commodities trading, August gold futures fell 0.61% or 25.10 to $4,108.20 a troy ounce, while crude oil for July delivery rose 0.51% or 0.46 to $90.49 a barrel. The August Brent contract advanced 0.27% or 0.25 to trade at $93.35 a barrel.
Currency moves were muted: AUD/USD was effectively unchanged, quoted at 0.70 with a 0.07% move, and AUD/JPY rose 0.12% to 112.48. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.05% at 99.99.
Overall, the session reflected a modest pullback in the broader Australian market, concentrated in technology, financial and gold-related names, while a handful of stocks posted strong gains.