Australian shares ended Tuesday's session in negative territory, with the S&P/ASX 200 finishing down 0.39% at the Sydney close. Sector weakness in Utilities, Gold and Energy underpinned the broad market decline, while stock-level dispersion produced notable winners and losers.
Top performers included Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Ltd (ASX:FPH), which jumped 9.41% or 2.59 points to close at 30.12. South32 Ltd (ASX:S32) added 5.20% or 0.23 points to finish at 4.65, and Austal Ltd (ASX:ASB) rose 4.50% or 0.17 points to 3.95 in late trade.
On the downside, ASX Ltd (ASX:ASX) recorded the largest single-stock fall, sliding 12.40% or 7.29 points to end the day at 51.52. Infratil Ltd (ASX:IFT) declined 6.28% or 0.82 points to 12.24, while PEXA Group Ltd (ASX:PXA) fell 5.53% or 0.64 points to 10.85.
Market breadth on the Sydney exchange was negative, with 649 stocks falling versus 485 advancers and 404 remaining unchanged.
PEXA's share price move also took it to a 52-week low, with the stock falling 5.53% to 10.85 by the close.
Investor sentiment as measured by options-based volatility edged higher: the S&P/ASX 200 VIX rose 0.36% to 12.67.
Commodities trading was mixed. Gold futures for August delivery were up 0.16% or 7.19 to $4,563.59 a troy ounce. In energy markets, U.S. crude for July delivery fell 4.80% or 4.64 to $91.96 a barrel, while the August Brent contract increased 2.18% or 2.04 to trade at $95.46 a barrel.
In currency markets, AUD/USD was unchanged 0.13% to 0.72, and AUD/JPY slipped 0.06% to 113.96. The US Dollar Index Futures rose 0.10% to 99.02.
Below are the key session takeaways and considerations for market participants.
- Index movement - S&P/ASX 200 closed down 0.39%.
- Leading gainers - FPH, S32 and ASB posted the largest percentage increases among S&P/ASX 200 constituents.
- Largest decliners - ASX, IFT and PXA were the biggest percentage fallers, with ASX Ltd dropping more than 12%.