Title: Australia stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 up 0.31%

Jun 23, 2022 03:45AM ET

By: AnalysisWatch

Australian shares rose after the close on Thursday as gains in the A-REITs, healthcare and consumer staples sectors led stocks higher.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.31%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Blackmores Ltd (ASX:BKL), up 5.40% or 3.53 points to trade at 68.84 at the close. Meanwhile, Perenti Global Ltd (ASX:PRN) added 5.04% or 0.03 points to end at 0.63 and Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) was up 4.87% or 0.84 points to 18.09 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were St Barbara Ltd (ASX:SBM), which fell 13.51% or 0.13 points to end at 0.80 in late trade. Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX:PBH) fell 10.95% or 0.30 points to end at 2.44 and Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX:RMS) was down 8.72% or 0.10 points to 1.00.

Falling shares outnumbered rising ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 936 to 539 and 355 ended unchanged.

Shares in St Barbara Ltd (ASX:SBM) fell to 5-year lows; down 13.51% or 0.13 to 0.80. Shares in Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX:RMS) fell to 52-week lows; down 8.72% or 0.10 to 1.00.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 4.03% at 19.39.

Gold futures for August delivery rose 0.06%, or 1.10, to $1,839.50 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, crude oil for August delivery fell 1.83%, or 1.94, to $104.25 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract fell 1.61%, or 1.80, to $109.94 a barrel.

AUD/USD traded unchanged by 0.71% at 0.69, while AUD/JPY fell 1.39% to 93.06.

US dollar index futures rose 0.36% to 104.36.