On Monday, Australia stocks concluded the trading session on a slightly positive note, with gains seen in the Financials, Materials, and Industrials sectors.
At the closing bell in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 edged up by 0.07%.
Among the session’s best performers on the S&P/ASX 200 index were Appen Ltd (ASX:APX), which rose by 7.05% or 0.06 points to trade at 0.83 by the close. Additionally, Zip Co Ltd (ASX:ZIP) gained 5.79% or 0.08 points to finish at 1.37, while Iluka Resources Ltd (ASX:ILU) climbed by 4.23% or 0.29 points, settling at 7.15 during late trading.
Conversely, the session’s worst performers included Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:CUV), which experienced a decline of 7.38% or 1.11 points, closing at 13.94. EML Payments Ltd (ASX:EML) fell by 5.56% or 0.07 points, ending the session at 1.19, and Healius Ltd (ASX:HLS) dropped by 4.76% or 0.06 points, reaching 1.20.
On the Sydney Stock Exchange, falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones, with 651 declining against 526 advancing, while 321 remained unchanged.
Shares in Zip Co Ltd (ASX:ZIP) reached 52-week highs, rising by 5.79% or 0.08 to 1.37.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, saw a decrease of 2.23% to 11.34.
In commodity markets, Gold Futures for April delivery experienced a decrease of 0.54% or 11.60, trading at $2,149.90 per troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for May delivery rose by 0.42% or 0.34 to hit $80.92 per barrel, and the May Brent oil contract increased by 0.35% or 0.30 to trade at $85.64 per barrel.
AUD/USD remained unchanged at 0.66, while AUD/JPY rose by 0.14% to 97.89.
The US Dollar Index Futures saw a slight uptick of 0.03% to 103.09.