Title: Australia stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 up 1.93%

May 13, 2022 03:45AM ET

By: AnalysisWatch

Australian shares rose after the close of trading on Friday, as gains in the IT, A-REIT and healthcare sectors pushed shares higher.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 1.93% at the close of trading in Sydney.

The best performing stock of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 was Polynovo Ltd (ASX:PNV), which rose 14.04% or 0.16 points and was trading at 1.30 at the close. Meanwhile, shares of Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:CUV) rose 13.46% or 1.97 points to close at 16.61 and Codan Ltd (ASX:CDA) rose 9.62% or 0.64 points to 7.29 at the close of trading.

Nuix Ltd (ASX:NXL) shares were the worst performers in the session, falling 6.07% or 0.07 points to close at 1.00. IGO Ltd (ASX:IGO) fell 3.48% or 0.38 points to close the trade at 10.54, and Reece Ltd (ASX:REH) fell 3.10% or 0.51 points to 15.93.

On the Sydney Stock Exchange, rising shares outnumbered falling shares 944 to 486, while 382 shares were unchanged.

Nuix Ltd (ASX:NXL) shares fell to an all-time low, losing 6.07% or 0.07 points to 1.00. Shares of Reece Ltd (ASX:REH) fell to a 52-week low; losing 3.10% or 0.51 to 15.93.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, fell 4.07% to 18.49.

Gold futures for June delivery rose 0.02%, or 0.30, to $1,824.90 per troy ounce. In commodity markets, crude oil for June delivery rose 0.43% or 0.46 to $106.59 a barrel, and the Brent contract for July rose 0.68% or 0.73 to $108.18 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged by 0.66% to 0.69 and AUD/JPY rose 1.05% to 88.87.

Futures on the US dollar index fell 0.27% to 104.61.