At the close of trading on Wednesday, Australian stocks exhibited a positive trend, with the S&P/ASX 200 achieving a 0.65% gain to reach a new six-month high in Sydney. The upward movement was driven by increases in the Gold, Telecoms Services, and A-REITs sectors.
Among the top performers on the S&P/ASX 200 were Omni Bridgeway Ltd (ASX:OBL), which experienced a 5.43% rise to 1.46, and Perenti Global Ltd (ASX:PRN), gaining 5.10% to finish at 1.03. Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) also contributed to the positive momentum, climbing 5.07% to 0.72 by the close of trading.
Conversely, Orica Ltd (ASX:ORI) led the decliners, dropping 2.53% to 16.21. Polynovo Ltd (ASX:PNV) witnessed a 2.12% decline to 1.62, and ARB Corporation Ltd (ASX:ARB) fell by 1.79% to 35.65.
On the Sydney Stock Exchange, advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones, with 762 rising, 471 falling, and 376 remaining unchanged.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, reflecting the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, experienced a 1.10% decrease, reaching 9.90.
In commodity markets, Gold Futures for February delivery rose 0.07% to $2,053.45 per troy ounce. Crude oil for February delivery increased by 0.11% to $74.02 per barrel, while the February Brent oil contract slightly fell by 0.01% to $79.22 per barrel.
The AUD/USD remained unchanged at 0.68%, and AUD/JPY fell slightly by 0.02% to 97.25. The US Dollar Index Futures rose by 0.03% to 101.83.