Australia’s stock market closed higher on Wednesday, with the S&P/ASX 200 index gaining 0.35%. The positive performance was driven by increases in the Metals & Mining, Materials, and Resources sectors.
Key Points:
Top Performers: Idp Education Ltd (ASX:IEL) led the session with a notable increase of 7.12%, followed by Ansell Ltd (ASX:ANN) and Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX:PME), which rose by 3.99% and 3.21%, respectively.
Bottom Performers: Healius Ltd (ASX:HLS) experienced the most significant decline, falling by 5.78%, while Polynovo Ltd (ASX:PNV) and Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX:FBU) also registered losses of 4.02% and 4.00%, respectively.
Market Activity: Falling stocks slightly outnumbered advancing ones, with 591 stocks declining, 558 advancing, and 465 remaining unchanged on the Sydney Stock Exchange.
Record Lows: Shares of Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX:FBU) reached five-year lows during the session.
Volatility: The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, increased by 0.57% to 11.48.
Commodities: Gold Futures for June delivery rose by 0.15% to $2,363.35 per troy ounce. Crude oil prices for June delivery increased by 0.72% to $78.58 per barrel, while the July Brent oil contract rose by 0.63% to $82.90 per barrel.
Currency Exchange: The AUD/USD pair remained unchanged at 0.66%, while the AUD/JPY pair rose by 0.18%. The US Dollar Index Futures experienced a slight decrease of 0.04%.
Overall, the S&P/ASX 200 index showed moderate gains, reflecting positive sentiment in key sectors despite some notable declines in specific stocks.