Australia’s stock market experienced a downturn at the close of trading on Thursday, driven by losses in the Consumer Discretionary, Financials, and A-REITs sectors.
The S&P/ASX 200 index concluded the session with a decline of 1.06% in Sydney.
Among the top performers on the S&P/ASX 200, AUB Group Ltd (ASX:AUB) stood out, registering a gain of 3.85% or 1.15 points, closing at 31.02. Similarly, AGL Energy Ltd (ASX:AGL) saw an increase of 2.37% or 0.24 points, ending at 10.37, while Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) rose by 2.21% or 0.04 points to 1.62 in late trade.
Conversely, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) experienced a notable decline of 5.74% or 1.60 points, settling at 26.29 by the close. Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX:SUL) followed suit, dropping by 5.16% or 0.71 points to finish at 13.06, while JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX:JBH) declined by 4.54% or 2.72 points, closing at 57.25.
Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange, with 760 stocks falling, 385 rising, and 443 remaining unchanged.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, reflecting the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, rose by 2.29% to 11.38.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for June delivery saw a marginal increase of 0.04% or 1.00 to $2,323.30 per troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in June rose by 0.44% or 0.35 to reach $79.34 per barrel, and the July Brent oil contract climbed by 0.31% or 0.26 to trade at $83.84 per barrel.
The currency market saw the AUD/USD pair unchanged at 0.66, while the AUD/JPY pair fell by 0.01% to 102.33.
The US Dollar Index Futures showed a slight uptick of 0.06% at 105.49.