Australia’s stock market closed lower on Friday, with the S&P/ASX 200 index declining by 0.15% in Sydney trading. Losses in sectors such as Energy, Gold, and Resources contributed to the overall downward trend in share prices.
Among the top performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Ltd (ASX:FPH), which saw a notable increase of 7.80%, followed by Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX:PTM) with a gain of 3.95%, and Virgin Money PLC (ASX:VUK) which rose by 3.42%.
Conversely, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) experienced a decline of 7.44%, making it one of the worst performers of the session, along with Resolute Mining Ltd (ASX:RSG) which fell by 5.00%, and Kogan.com Ltd (ASX:KGN) which was down by 3.48%.
Overall, declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange, with 669 stocks witnessing declines, 456 registering gains, and 356 remaining unchanged.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, a measure of implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, decreased by 4.29% to 10.89.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for April delivery experienced a decline of 0.42% to $2,175.55 per troy ounce, while Crude oil for May delivery fell by 0.68% to $80.52 per barrel. Brent oil for May delivery also dropped by 0.65% to $85.22 per barrel.
The Australian dollar was relatively stable, with AUD/USD remaining unchanged at 0.65, while AUD/JPY fell by 0.62% to 99.00.
Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index Futures rose by 0.21% to 103.88, indicating some strength in the US dollar against a basket of other major currencies.