Sydney, Australia – On Wednesday, the Australian stock market exhibited a downward trend at the close of the trading day, predominantly influenced by losses in the Gold, A-REITs, and Consumer Staples sectors.
The S&P/ASX 200, the country’s primary stock index, recorded a marginal dip of 0.04% at the conclusion of the trading session.
Among the noteworthy gainers on the S&P/ASX 200 were Kogan.com Ltd (ASX:KGN), which saw an impressive surge of 8.72%, equating to a gain of 0.39 points, ultimately closing at 4.86. Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX:PBH) also performed well, registering a gain of 6.25%, with an increase of 0.05 points, to close at 0.77. Furthermore, Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX:MIN) saw its stock price rise by 4.63%, an increase of 2.66 points, concluding the late trading session at 60.09.
However, not all companies shared in these gains. The session’s most significant decliners included Healius Ltd (ASX:HLS), which saw a notable decrease of 6.48% or 0.14 points, resulting in a closing price of 2.02. Likewise, Zip Co Ltd (ASX:ZIP) witnessed a decline of 6.25%, equivalent to 0.02 points, bringing its closing price to 0.30. Meanwhile, Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX:RMS) faced a decline of 5.63% or 0.10 points, closing at 1.67.
The Sydney Stock Exchange saw a greater number of declining stocks, with 611 companies in the red, as opposed to 563 advancing, and 360 remaining unchanged.
Notably, Healius Ltd (ASX:HLS) endured a significant setback, reaching a three-year low as it plummeted by 6.48%, shedding 0.14 points to reach 2.02.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, a gauge of implied volatility for S&P/ASX 200 options, saw a decrease of 4.94%, closing at 14.54.
In the commodities market, Gold Futures for December delivery showed a decline of 0.13%, resulting in a decrease of 2.50, bringing the troy ounce price to $1,983.60. On the other hand, Crude oil for delivery in December saw a decrease of 0.39%, translating to a loss of 0.33, with the closing price settling at $83.41 per barrel. The December Brent oil contract also experienced a decrease of 0.39%, falling by 0.34 to reach $87.73 per barrel.
In the currency market, the AUD/USD exchange rate remained unchanged, holding steady at 0.64, while the AUD/JPY exchange rate increased by 0.30% to 95.56.
The US Dollar Index Futures dipped by 0.06%, closing at 106.02, capping off the day’s market developments.
