Australian Stocks Finish Higher; S&P/ASX 200 Rises 0.14%
The Australian stock market closed in positive territory on Monday, with the S&P/ASX 200 index gaining 0.14%. The upward movement was driven by the Gold, A-REITs (Australian Real Estate Investment Trusts), and Metals & Mining sectors, which contributed to the overall increase in share prices.
Among the top performers on the S&P/ASX 200 index were Invocare Ltd (ASX:IVC), whose shares rose by 12.08% or 1.34 points to close at 12.43. Silver Lake Resources Ltd (ASX:SLR) also saw significant gains, adding 7.88% or 0.08 points to finish at 1.10. News Corp B DRC (ASX:NWS) experienced a positive session as well, with its shares increasing by 5.05% or 1.31 points to reach 27.27 by the end of trading.
On the other hand, there were some decliners during the session. Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX:PBH) saw a decline of 21.14% or 0.39 points, closing at 1.46. Elders Ltd (ASX:ELD) also experienced a downturn, falling 13.25% or 1.10 points to end at 7.20. Nanosonics Ltd (ASX:NAN) witnessed a decrease of 8.93% or 0.50 points, closing at 5.10.
Overall, there were more falling stocks than advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange, with 753 stocks declining, 528 advancing, and 444 remaining unchanged.
Elders Ltd (ASX:ELD) shares hit a three-year low, dropping 13.25% or 1.10 points to 7.20.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, rose 1.22% to 11.91.
In commodities trading, gold futures for June delivery increased by 0.24% or 4.85 to $2,024.65 per troy ounce. Crude oil for June delivery rose slightly by 0.03% or 0.02 to reach $70.06 per barrel, while the July Brent oil contract fell by 0.05% or 0.04 to trade at $74.13 per barrel.
In currency markets, the AUD/USD pair remained unchanged at 0.67, while the AUD/JPY pair rose by 0.85% to 90.96.
The US Dollar Index Futures declined by 0.17% to 102.33.
