Title: Australia stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 up 0.19%

Apr 05, 2022 03:45AM ET

By: AnalysisWatch

Australian stocks rose after the close on Tuesday on the back of gains in the information technology, energy and utilities sectors.

The S&P/ASX 200 index gained 0.19% at the close of trading in Sydney, reaching a new one-month high.

Mineral Resources Ltd. shares were the best performers on the S&P/ASX 200 index, rising 5.69%, or 3.21 points, to close trading at 59.67 points.Meanwhile, Polynovo Ltd. added 4.85%, or 0.05 points, to end at 1.08 and James Hardie Industries PLC rose 4.59%, or 1.84 points, to close trading at 41.94.

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd was the worst performer during the session, falling 5.71%, or 0.65 points, to close trading at 10.74 points. Gold Road Resources Ltd closed at 1.87 points, down 3.40% or 0.06 points.

On the Sydney Stock Exchange, declining shares outnumbered rising ones by 789 to 710, and 363 ended unchanged.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX index, which measures implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, fell 11.17 percent to 11.23 points.

Gold futures for June delivery fell 0.29%, or 5.60 points, to $1,928.40 per troy ounce.

Elsewhere in commodities trading, crude oil for May delivery rose 0.83%, or 0.86%, to $104.14 a barrel, while the June Brent crude oil contract rose 0.87%, or 0.94%, to trade at $108.47 a barrel.

The AUD/USD currency pair strengthened by 1.17% to 0.76, while the AUD/JPY currency pair gained 1.27% to 93.78.

Futures on the US dollar index fell 0.09% to 98.88.