Australian equities closed modestly higher on Wednesday, with the S&P/ASX 200 finishing the day up 0.09% as gains concentrated in the Gold, Materials and Metals & Mining sectors helped lift the overall market.
At the Sydney close the S&P/ASX 200 traded at 8,765.30, an increase of 7.50 points from the prior session.
Top performers
- Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX:TPW) led the winners, climbing 4.99% or 0.21 points to finish at 4.42.
- Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX:NST) gained 4.33% or 0.95 points to close at 22.88.
- Codan Ltd (ASX:CDA) rose 3.89% or 2.00 points, ending the session at 53.37.
Heaviest decliners
- Tuas Ltd (ASX:TUA) was the weakest performer, plunging 21.03% or 0.49 points to trade at 1.84 at the close.
- BSP Financial Group Ltd (ASX:BFL) fell 6.65% or 0.53 points to 7.38.
- Atlas Arteria (ASX:ALX) slipped 5.84% or 0.26 points to 4.19.
Decliners outnumbered advancers on the Sydney exchange, with 569 stocks down versus 504 advancing and 413 remaining unchanged.
Certain individual stock milestones were noted during the session: Tuas fell to three-year lows at 1.84 after its 21.03% drop; Codan reached an all-time high at 53.37 following its 3.89% gain; and Atlas Arteria moved to five-year lows at 4.19 after losing 5.84%.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, a gauge of implied volatility for S&P/ASX 200 options, declined 3.49% to 11.00, indicating a reduction in short-term implied volatility.
Commodity moves also featured in the session: Gold futures for December delivery eased 0.23% or 10.18 to trade at 4,366.22 per troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for November delivery fell 1.22% or 1.10 to $89.42 a barrel, and the November Brent contract decreased 0.69% or 0.68 to $98.57 a barrel.
Currency markets showed limited movement. AUD/USD was effectively unchanged, at 0.71 (a 0.25% change as reported), while AUD/JPY was down slightly at 111.93, a 0.04% decline. The US Dollar Index Futures was reported up 0.15% at 100.47.
This session reflected selective strength in mining- and materials-linked names that offset notable weakness among a subset of stocks, while volatility eased and commodity prices generally softened.