Australia stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 down 0.25%

Investing.com – Australia stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Consumer Staples, Utilities and Materials sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.25%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX:PBH), which rose 8.22% or 0.06 points to trade at 0.79 at the close. Meanwhile, Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX:MIN) added 9.20% or 3.32 points to end at 39.40 and Nuix Ltd (ASX:NXL) was up 8.40% or 0.60 points to 7.74 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX:NIC), which fell 6.22% or 0.06 points to trade at 0.90 at the close. AGL Energy Ltd (ASX:AGL) declined 6.01% or 0.67 points to end at 10.48 and Domino’S Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX:DMP) was down 3.07% or 1.06 points to 33.48.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 608 to 506 and 461 ended unchanged.

Shares in Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX:PBH) rose to 52-week highs; up 8.22% or 0.06 to 0.79. Shares in Nuix Ltd (ASX:NXL) rose to 3-years highs; gaining 8.40% or 0.60 to 7.74.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 2.89% to 13.73 a new 1-month high.

Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.23% or 6.50 to $2,794.30 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December rose 0.70% or 0.48 to hit $69.09 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract rose 0.69% or 0.50 to trade at $72.66 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.02% to 0.66, while AUD/JPY fell 0.30% to 100.53.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.16% at 104.03.