Australia's equity market ended the trading day lower on Monday, driven by weakness in the Gold, Metals & Mining and Materials sectors. At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.39% and reached a new three-month low.
Among individual performers, Reliance Worldwide Corporation Ltd (ASX:RWC) was the session's strongest performer, finishing up 6.85% - a gain of 0.20 points - to close at 3.12. AMP Ltd (ASX:AMP) also advanced, rising 4.27% or 0.05 points to 1.22 at the close. Guzman Y Gomez Ltd (ASX:GYG) added 3.77%, an increase of 0.68 points, to finish the day at 18.73.
Decliners were led by IperionX Limited (ASX:IPX), which plunged 22.24% or 1.17 points to end at 4.09. Regis Resources Ltd (ASX:RRL) retreated 7.94% or 0.61 points to 7.07, and Stanmore Coal (ASX:SMR) fell 6.99% or 0.20 points to 2.66.
Market breadth was negative on the Sydney bourse, with 907 stocks falling compared with 351 advancers and 350 unchanged issues.
Volatility, as measured by the S&P/ASX 200 VIX - which reflects implied volatility in options on the benchmark - rose 2.90% to 17.58, signalling an uptick in expected near-term swings.
Commodities showed mixed movements. Gold futures for April delivery declined 1.06% or 53.64 to settle at 5,008.06 per troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for May delivery climbed 1.08% or 1.05 to $97.89 a barrel, while the May Brent contract increased 1.62% or 1.67 to trade at $104.81 a barrel.
Currency markets recorded modest moves: the Australian dollar versus the US dollar was essentially unchanged, moving by 0.42% to 0.70, while AUD/JPY rose 0.20% to 111.73. The US Dollar Index Futures was slightly lower by 0.04% at 100.06.
Overall, the session featured notable divergence between individual stock winners and losers, and placed the benchmark at its lowest level in roughly three months, while options-based volatility edged higher and commodity and FX prices moved unevenly.