Australian shares finished the trading day lower on Monday, weighed down by declines in resource-related sectors. At the close in Sydney the S&P/ASX 200 slid 2.85% to record a new one-month low.
Sector pressure was most visible in Gold, Materials and Metals & Mining, which led the overall market down. Market breadth was heavily tilted toward losers: 1,139 stocks fell, 167 advanced and 250 finished unchanged on the Sydney exchange.
Top individual movers
- Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX:YAL) was the session's strongest performer, rising 12.64% or 0.80 points to close at 7.13. The stock also reached a 52-week high during the session.
- Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) gained 4.01% or 0.34 points to finish at 8.82.
- Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) added 3.08% or 0.23 points to end the day at 7.69.
Lagging names
- Dyno Nobel Ltd (ASX:DNL) fell 9.44% or 0.32 points to close at 3.07.
- DroneShield Ltd (ASX:DRO) declined 9.34% or 0.38 points to finish at 3.69.
- Zip Co Ltd (ASX:ZIP) dropped 8.54% or 0.16 points to end at 1.69.
Volatility and market signals
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which gauges the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, climbed 19.34% to 17.85, marking a six-month high for the index. The jump in the VIX accompanied the broad equities sell-off.
Commodities and FX
Commodities showed divergent moves in the session. Gold futures for April delivery fell 1.07% or 55.41 to $5,103.29 a troy ounce. In contrast, crude oil for April delivery surged 17.82% or 16.20 to $107.10 a barrel, while the May Brent contract rose 19.61% or 18.18 to trade at $110.87 a barrel.
On the currency front, AUD/USD was unchanged 0.16% to 0.70 and AUD/JPY rose 0.23% to 111.20. The US Dollar Index Futures moved up 0.33% to 99.31.
The session’s price action left index investors and traders contending with elevated volatility and clear sectoral pressure from resource-related names. Declines were widespread across the market, while select miners and energy firms posted gains amid volatile commodity moves.