Australian stocks rallied higher on Thursday’s close, with the S&P/ASX 200 experiencing a notable uptick, driven by gains in the Gold, Financials, and Consumer Discretionary sectors.
By the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 soared by 1.12%, marking a positive trajectory for the day.
Leading the charge among the session’s top performers on the S&P/ASX 200 were Webjet Ltd (ASX:WEB), which surged by 9.05% or 0.72 points, closing at 8.68. Zip Co Ltd (ASX:ZIP) also demonstrated robust gains, climbing by 8.00% or 0.11 points to end at 1.49, while Resolute Mining Ltd (ASX:RSG) witnessed a notable increase of 7.43% or 0.03 points, reaching 0.40 by the close of trading.
Conversely, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) experienced a decline of 8.96% or 0.06 points, closing at 0.61. IGO Ltd (ASX:IGO) also saw a downturn, falling by 3.83% or 0.29 points to conclude at 7.29, while Spark New Zealand Ltd (ASX:SPK) dipped by 3.46% or 0.16 points, ending at 4.47.
Rising stocks outpaced declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange, with 781 stocks gaining, 446 declining, and 335 remaining unchanged.
Webjet Ltd (ASX:WEB) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX:ZIP) saw significant upticks, with shares hitting 3-year and 52-week highs, respectively.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, measuring the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, saw a rise of 9.58% to 11.37.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for April delivery surged by 2.02% or 43.70 to $2,204.70 a troy ounce. Crude oil for delivery in May rose by 0.63% or 0.51, reaching $81.78 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract increased by 0.67% or 0.58, trading at $86.53 a barrel.
The AUD/USD pair remained unchanged at 0.66, while the AUD/JPY pair rose by 0.26% to 99.89.
The US Dollar Index Futures saw a marginal decrease of 0.11% at 102.93.