Australia Stock Market Update

Australia’s stocks closed higher on Friday, fueled by gains in the Gold, Industrials, and Energy sectors.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.58%.

Best Performers

• Downer Edi Ltd (ASX:DOW): +16.95% (0.81 points) to 5.59
• TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX:TPG): +8.08% (0.37 points) to 4.95
• Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX:FBU): +7.98% (0.21 points) to 2.84

Worst Performers

• Appen Ltd (ASX:APX): -16.87% (0.21 points) to 1.01
• Ramsay Health Care Ltd (ASX:RHC): -7.33% (3.27 points) to 41.30
• Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd (ASX:HVN): -6.34% (0.31 points) to 4.58

Market Summary

Rising stocks outnumbered declines on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 730 to 412, with 444 remaining unchanged.

Shares in Downer Edi Ltd (ASX:DOW) reached 52-week highs, gaining 16.95% (0.81) to 5.59, while shares in Ramsay Health Care Ltd (ASX:RHC) hit 5-year lows, losing 7.33% (3.27) to 41.30.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, decreased 3.38% to 10.94—a new 1-month low.

Commodity Prices

• Gold Futures (December delivery): -0.19% (-4.80) to $2,555.50 per troy ounce
• Crude Oil (October delivery): +0.41% (+0.31) to $76.22 per barrel
• Brent Oil (November delivery): +0.43% (+0.34) to $79.16 per barrel

Currency Update

• AUD/USD: Unchanged at 0.68
• AUD/JPY: +0.08% to 98.67
• US Dollar Index Futures: +0.05% at 101.32