The Australian stock market experienced a downturn on Wednesday’s closing session, primarily influenced by losses in the IT, Gold, and A-REITs sectors.
As the trading day concluded in Sydney, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index reported a loss of 1.37%.
Among the top performers on the S&P/ASX 200 were Medibank Private Ltd (ASX:MPL), exhibiting a gain of 1.68%, equivalent to 0.06 points, closing at 3.63. Following suit, Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX:PBH) recorded an increase of 1.14%, adding 0.01 points to finish at 0.89. Qbe Insurance Group Ltd (ASX:QBE) also posted positive results, rising by 1.02% or 0.15 points, concluding the late trade at 14.84.
On the flip side, the session’s underperformers included Kogan.com Ltd (ASX:KGN), which witnessed a substantial decline of 9.33%, equivalent to 0.49 points, closing at 4.76. Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX:GOR) experienced a downturn of 8.44%, shedding 0.17 points to settle at 1.79. Healius Ltd (ASX:HLS) reported a decrease of 6.33%, translating to 0.11 points, concluding the session at 1.55.
In terms of market breadth, falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange, resulting in a ratio of 779 to 364, with 377 ending unchanged.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, a measure of implied volatility for S&P/ASX 200 options, saw an uptick of 2.10%, reaching 11.47, marking a new 1-month high.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for February delivery experienced a marginal decline of 0.07%, equivalent to 1.40, closing at $2,072.00 per troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for February delivery fell by 0.37%, or 0.26, reaching $70.12 a barrel. The March Brent oil contract also witnessed a decline of 0.34%, or 0.26, trading at $75.63 a barrel.
In currency markets, AUD/USD remained unchanged at 0.68, while AUD/JPY rose by 0.10% to 96.08.
The US Dollar Index Futures demonstrated a decrease of 0.09%, closing at 101.80.