Australia Stock Market Overview

Australia stocks closed lower on Monday, primarily due to losses in the Gold, Metals & Mining, and Materials sectors.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.56%, reaching a new one-month low.

Best Performers

• Austal Ltd (ASX:ASB): +4.29% (up 0.12 points, closed at 2.92)
• Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Ltd (ASX:FPH): +3.78% (up 1.26 points, closed at 34.62)
• Healius Ltd (ASX:HLS): +2.18% (up 0.03 points, closed at 1.40)

Worst Performers

• Appen Ltd (ASX:APX): -13.23% (down 0.34 points, closed at 2.23)
• Resolute Mining Ltd (ASX:RSG): -6.98% (down 0.03 points, closed at 0.40)
• Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX:PTM): -4.55% (down 0.03 points, closed at 0.64)

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange, with 761 declines to 374 advances, while 434 stocks ended unchanged.

Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX:PTM) reached all-time lows, declining 4.55%.

Market Volatility

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX (implied volatility measure) increased 3.09% to 10.23.

Commodity Market

• Gold Futures (February): -0.26%, $2,668.97/troy ounce
• Crude Oil (January): -1.19%, $70.44/barrel
• Brent Oil (February): -0.44%, $74.16/barrel

Currency Market

• AUD/USD: unchanged at 0.20% to 0.64
• AUD/JPY: up 0.20% to 97.96
• US Dollar Index Futures: -0.16% at 106.51