Title: Australia stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 down 1.75%

May 12, 2022 03:45AM ET

By: AnalysisWatch

Australian shares were down after the close on Thursday as losses in the IT, energy and consumer cyclical sectors led stocks lower.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.75% and hit a new 3-month low.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Orica Ltd (ASX:ORI), which rose 4.66% or 0.73 points to trade at 16.40 at the close. Meanwhile, AGL Energy Ltd (ASX:AGL) added 1.71% or 0.14 points to end at 8.33 and Ampol Ltd (ASX:ALD) was up 1.47% or 0.48 points to 33.13 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Altium Ltd (ASX:ALU), which fell 16.69% or 5.05 points to end at 25.20 in late trade. Xero Ltd (ASX:XRO) fell 11.58% or 10.07 points to finish at 76.90 and Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) was down 9.74% or 0.71 points to 6.58.

Falling shares outnumbered rising ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 1173 to 319 and 340 ended unchanged.

Shares in Xero Ltd (ASX:XRO) fell to 52-week lows; down 11.58% or 10.07 to 76.90. Shares in Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) fell to 52-week lows; down 9.74% or 0.71 to 6.58.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 2.54% at 19.27.

Gold futures for June delivery fell 0.24%, or 4.36, to $1,849.34 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, crude oil for June delivery fell 2.30%, or 2.43, to $103.28 a barrel, while the July contract for Brent crude fell 2.01%, or 2.16, to $105.35 a barrel.

AUD/USD traded unchanged by 0.56% at 0.69, while AUD/JPY fell 1.44% to 88.85.

US dollar index futures rose 0.37% to 104.26.