Australia Stocks Lower at Close of Trade; S&P/ASX 200 Down 0.39%
Sydney, Australia – The Australian stock market closed lower on Monday, with the S&P/ASX 200 index falling 0.39%. Losses in the technology, consumer discretionary, and healthcare sectors dragged down share prices.
Appen Ltd (ASX:), a technology company, was one of the top performers of the session, rising 16.07% or 0.05 points to 0.33 at market close. JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX:) also saw gains, adding 7.34% or 4.15 points to end at 60.70. Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX:) closed up 4.05% or 4.32 points to 111.09.
However, Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX:) experienced the biggest losses of the day, falling 6.09% or 0.24 points to trade at 3.70. CSL Ltd (ASX:) declined 5.18% or 15.81 points to end at 289.19, and Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX:) dropped 4.71% or 0.04 points to 0.81.
The Sydney Stock Exchange saw more falling stocks than advancing ones, with 680 decliners, 507 advancers, and 324 unchanged.
Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX:) hit a three-year low, while JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX:) reached an all-time high. Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX:) also reached all-time highs.
The S&P/ASX 200 options implied volatility index, known as the , decreased by 1.19% to 11.21.
In commodities trading, gold futures for April delivery fell 0.06% or 1.30 to $2,037.40 per troy ounce. Crude oil for March delivery dropped 0.30% or 0.23 to $76.61 per barrel, and the April Brent oil contract fell 0.27% or 0.22 to trade at $81.97 per barrel.
The Australian dollar remained steady against the US dollar, with AUD/USD unchanged at 0.65. AUD/JPY fell slightly by 0.04% to 97.30.
The US Dollar Index Futures decreased by 0.09% to 103.90.
(Source: Reuters)
Analyst comment
Negative news. The Australian stock market closed lower, with the S&P/ASX 200 down 0.39%. Declines in the technology, consumer discretionary, and healthcare sectors weighed on share prices. The market is likely to continue facing downward pressure in the short term.
