Australian share markets finished the trading day in positive territory on Wednesday, led by gains in the Consumer Discretionary, Information Technology and Utilities sectors. At the close in Sydney the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.69%.
Among individual stocks, the session's strongest performers on the S&P/ASX 200 were:
- Megaport Ltd (MP1) - up 8.56% or 1.18 points to close at 14.97.
- Austal Ltd (ASB) - gained 7.34% or 0.29 points to finish at 4.24.
- Infratil Ltd (IFT) - rose 5.96% or 0.74 points to end the session at 13.16.
Conversely, the largest decliners were:
- ASX Ltd (ASX) - fell 8.80% or 4.49 points to close at 46.54.
- Endeavour Group Ltd (EDV) - down 5.19% or 0.16 points to finish at 2.92.
- Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (NEU) - slipped 4.30% or 0.62 points to 13.81.
Market breadth tilted towards advancers, with 614 stocks rising against 513 that declined on the Sydney Stock Exchange, and 425 issues finishing unchanged.
Notable price milestones were recorded during the session. Shares of ASX Ltd fell to five-year lows, closing at 46.54 after an 8.80% drop. Endeavour Group's shares declined to an all-time low, ending at 2.92 following a 5.19% fall. Infratil reached an all-time high, rising 5.96% to 13.16.
Volatility, as measured by the S&P/ASX 200 VIX, eased further - the index fell 5.64% to 11.95, marking a new one-month low.
Commodity markets moved lower on the day. Gold futures for August delivery were down 0.38% or 17.24 to trade at 4,517.76 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for July delivery declined 2.12% or 1.99 to $91.90 a barrel, while the August Brent contract slipped 1.70% or 1.64 to $95.03 a barrel.
Foreign exchange and currency-linked instruments showed modest shifts. AUD/USD was unchanged 0.27% to 0.71, while AUD/JPY fell 0.22% to 113.93. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.06% at 99.04.
Overall, the session reflected selective strength among technology, consumer discretionary and utilities names, accompanied by lower implied market volatility and modest softness in key commodity prices.