Australia’s stock market, represented by the S&P/ASX 200, experienced a significant gain of 1.65% at the close of Wednesday’s trading session. The positive momentum was led by increases in the A-REITs, Telecoms Services, and Consumer Staples sectors.
Top performers on the S&P/ASX 200 included Polynovo Ltd (ASX:PNV), surging by 12.27%, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) with a 7.89% increase, and Alumina Ltd (ASX:AWC), rising by 6.85%.
On the downside, Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX:EVN) was among the worst performers, falling by 13.04%, along with Nuix Ltd (ASX:NXL) and Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX:RMS), which declined by 3.20% and 2.11%, respectively.
Overall, rising stocks outnumbered declining ones, with 723 gaining, 512 declining, and 363 remaining unchanged on the Sydney Stock Exchange.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, measuring the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, rose by 0.96% to reach 11.09.
In commodity trading, Gold Futures for February delivery increased by 0.20% to $2,040.35 per troy ounce. Crude oil for January delivery rose by 0.01% to $72.33 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract increased by 0.09% to $77.27 a barrel.
Currency-wise, AUD/USD remained unchanged at 0.66, while AUD/JPY rose by 0.61% to 97.00.
The US Dollar Index Futures experienced a slight 0.11% decrease, reaching 103.88.