Australia’s stock market closed lower on Friday, with declines observed in the IT, A-REITs, and Metals & Mining sectors.
At the close of trading in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 index slipped by 0.98%, reaching a fresh one-month low.
Among the top performers on the S&P/ASX 200 were St Barbara Ltd (ASX:SBM), which saw an increase of 3.39% or 0.01 points, closing at 0.31. Additionally, Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX:PRU) climbed by 1.76% or 0.04 points, ending at 2.31, while Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) experienced a gain of 1.69% or 0.13 points, reaching 7.82 in late trade.
Conversely, the worst performers included Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:CUV), which fell by 5.82% or 0.89 points, settling at 14.40 at the close. Omni Bridgeway Ltd (ASX:OBL) declined by 5.38% or 0.07 points, concluding the session at 1.23, and Polynovo Ltd (ASX:PNV) dropped by 5.34% or 0.11 points, reaching 1.95.
Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange, with 789 stocks falling, 368 rising, and 433 remaining unchanged.
Omni Bridgeway Ltd (ASX:OBL) saw its shares hitting five-year lows, falling by 5.38% or 0.07 to 1.23.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, rose by 18.87% to 14.46, marking a new three-month high.
In commodities trading, gold futures for June delivery fell by 0.05% or 1.10 to $2,396.90 a troy ounce. Crude oil for delivery in May rose by 1.47% or 1.22 to reach $83.95 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract increased by 1.46% or 1.27 to trade at $88.38 a barrel.
AUD/USD remained unchanged at 0.64, while AUD/JPY fell by 0.51% to 98.80.
The US Dollar Index Futures increased by 0.07% to 106.06.