Australia Stock Market Overview

Investing.com – Australia stocks closed lower on Friday, with the S&P/ASX 200 declining by 0.50%. The downturn was driven mainly by losses in the Gold, Healthcare, and Financials sectors.

Best and Worst Performers

Best Performers

• Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH): +8.23% (up 0.07 points, trading at 0.86)
• Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA): +4.44% (up 0.26 points, trading at 6.12)
• Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN): +3.65% (up 1.44 points, trading at 40.84)

Worst Performers

• Austal Ltd (ASX: ASB): -5.14% (down 0.17 points, trading at 3.14)
• Appen Ltd (ASX: APX): -4.73% (down 0.10 points, trading at 1.92)
• Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS): -4.53% (down 0.08 points, trading at 1.58)

Market Statistics

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 648 to 397, with 376 remaining unchanged.

Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) reached 52-week highs, increasing by 8.23% (up 0.07 to 0.86).

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, indicating implied volatility of options, rose 0.74% to 13.84.

Commodities Overview

• Gold Futures (December delivery): +0.46% (up 12.75 to $2,762.05 per ounce)
• Crude Oil (December delivery): +2.02% (up 1.40 to $70.66 per barrel)
• Brent Oil (January contract): +1.85% (up 1.35 to $74.16 per barrel)

Currency Exchange Rates

• AUD/USD: unchanged at 0.66
• AUD/JPY: +0.17% to 100.23
• US Dollar Index Futures: +0.05% at 103.93.