Australia stocks concluded Thursday’s session on a positive note, with increases in the Gold, A-REITs, and IT sectors driving the S&P/ASX 200 to a new 3-month high, marking a gain of 1.65% at the close in Sydney.
Top performers on the S&P/ASX 200 included Charter Hall Group (ASX:CHC), rising 12.23% to 12.39, IGO Ltd (ASX:IGO), gaining 11.30% to 8.37, and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS), up 8.74% to 3.80.
Conversely, Orora Ltd (ASX:ORA) fell 3.36%, Qbe Insurance Group Ltd (ASX:QBE) declined 3.11%, and Metcash Ltd (ASX:MTS) was down 3.07%.
The market breadth favored advancers, with 816 rising stocks, 426 declining, and 352 ending unchanged on the Sydney Stock Exchange.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, measuring the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, decreased by 1.49% to 9.77.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for February delivery rose by 2.41% to $2,045.45 per troy ounce, while Crude oil for January delivery increased by 0.30% to $69.68 per barrel. The February Brent oil contract rose 0.42% to $74.57 per barrel.
The AUD/USD pair was up 0.80% at 0.67, and the AUD/JPY pair fell 0.12% to 95.08. The US Dollar Index Futures decreased by 0.22% to 102.25.