Australian stocks surged higher at the close of trading on Monday, with notable gains observed in the Gold, Materials, and Metals & Mining sectors.
Closing in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 index recorded a robust increase of 0.99%, reaching a new all-time high.
Among the top performers on the S&P/ASX 200 were Mesoblast Ltd (ASX:MSB), which soared by 12.12% or 0.06 points to trade at 0.56 by the end of the session. Additionally, Resolute Mining Ltd (ASX:RSG) witnessed a substantial gain of 10.26%, adding 0.04 points to close at 0.43, while Omni Bridgeway Ltd (ASX:OBL) climbed 6.34%, or 0.09 points, reaching 1.51 in late trade.
Conversely, among the session’s worst performers were Zip Co Ltd (ASX:ZIP), which experienced a decline of 7.33% or 0.11 points to settle at 1.39 by the close. Similarly, G8 Education Ltd (ASX:GEM) slipped by 3.23%, losing 0.04 points to reach 1.20, and EML Payments Ltd (ASX:EML) dropped by 3.15%, or 0.04 points, closing at 1.23.
In terms of market breadth, advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, reflecting the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, recorded a decline of 2.62%, hitting a new three-month low at 9.79.
Gold Futures for June delivery surged by 1.80% or 40.40, reaching $2,278.80 per troy ounce. Meanwhile, in commodities trading, Crude oil for May delivery witnessed an increase of 0.34% or 0.28, reaching $83.45 per barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose by 0.30% or 0.26, trading at $87.26 per barrel.
Regarding currency markets, AUD/USD remained unchanged at 0.65, while AUD/JPY rose slightly by 0.02% to 98.67.
The US Dollar Index Futures experienced a marginal increase of 0.01%, reaching 104.28.