Title: Australia stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 down 0.42%

May 03, 2022 03:45AM ET

By: AnalysisWatch

Australian shares traded lower after the close on Tuesday, as losses in the sectors of A-REITs, gold, metals and mining led the shares down.

At the close of trading in Sydney, the S & P/ASX 200 lost 0.42%.

Magellan Financial Group Ltd. was the best performer in the S & P/ASX 200 during the session, rising 5.03%, or 0.82 points, to close at 17.11. Meanwhile, Zip Co. Ltd. gained 5.00%, or 0.06 points, to close at 1.16 and Appen Ltd. rose 4.56%, or 0.29 points, to 6.65 in late trading.

Westgold Resources Ltd. was the worst performer, falling 6.90%, or 0.11 points, to close at 1.49. Costa Group Holdings Ltd. fell 6.42%, or 0.21 points, to close at 3.06, while Premier Investments Ltd. slipped 5.55%, or 1.42 points, to 24.16.

On the Sydney Stock Exchange, falling shares outweighed rising ones by 912 to 536, and 373 ended unchanged.

Westgold Resources Ltd shares fell 6.90%, or 0.11, to 1.49, a 52-week low.Premier Investments Ltd shares fell 5.55%, or 1.42, to 24.16, a 52-week low.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, increased 9.86% to 17.29, a new one-month high.

Gold futures for June delivery fell 0.28%, or 5.26, to $1,858.34 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, crude oil for June delivery fell 0.62%, or 0.65, to $104.52 a barrel, while the July Brent oil contract fell 0.66%, or 0.71, to $106.87 a barrel.

The AUD/USD pair rose 0.77% to 0.71, while the AUD/JPY pair gained 0.82% to 92.46.

The US dollar index futures fell 0.26% to 103.50.