Australia’s stock market saw declines on Friday, with losses primarily observed in the Industrials, A-REITs, and Telecoms Services sectors.
By the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 fell by 1.39%.
Among the top performers on the S&P/ASX 200 were Resmed Inc DRC (ASX:RMD), surging by 9.26% or 2.66 points to reach 31.40 at market close. Similarly, Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX:WGX) climbed 6.51% or 0.14 points, finishing at 2.29, while Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) rose by 5.77% or 0.39 points, reaching 7.15 in late trading.
Conversely, Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX:PTM) experienced a decline of 5.75% or 0.07 points, settling at 1.07 by close. Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX:MFG) declined by 5.35% or 0.49 points, ending at 8.67, and Insignia Financial Ltd (ASX:IFL) dropped by 5.28% or 0.13 points, reaching 2.33.
The Sydney Stock Exchange witnessed falling stocks outnumbering advancing ones, with 735 stocks declining, 419 advancing, and 464 remaining unchanged.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, measuring the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, increased by 8.97% to 12.37.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for June delivery rose by 0.36% or 8.55 to $2,351.05 a troy ounce. Crude oil for delivery in June also saw an uptick of 0.48% or 0.40, reaching $83.97 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose by 0.53% or 0.47, trading at $89.48 a barrel.
AUD/USD remained unchanged at 0.65, while AUD/JPY rose by 0.57% to 102.04.
The US Dollar Index Futures saw a marginal increase of 0.01%, reaching 105.46.