Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Monday, as gains in the Utilities, Financials and A-REITs sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.01% to hit a new 1-month high.
The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Orocobre Ltd (ASX:ORE), which rose 5.56% or 0.140 points to trade at 2.660 at the close. Meanwhile, Adelaide Brighton Ltd (ASX:ABC) added 5.10% or 0.150 points to end at 3.090 and Cimic Group Ltd (ASX:CIM) was up 4.69% or 1.450 points to 32.360 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Regis Resources Ltd (ASX:RRL), which fell 6.13% or 0.310 points to trade at 4.750 at the close. Speedcast International Ltd (ASX:SDA) declined 5.18% or 0.065 points to end at 1.190 and Saracen Mineral Holdings Ltd (ASX:SAR) was down 5.06% or 0.180 points to 3.380.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 651 to 562 and 361 ended unchanged.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 1.41% to 12.824 a new 1-month low.
Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.04% or 0.65 to $1516.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October rose 1.15% or 0.65 to hit $57.17 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract rose 1.01% or 0.62 to trade at $62.16 a barrel.
AUD/USD was up 0.18% to 0.6858, while AUD/JPY rose 0.43% to 73.33.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.04% at 98.403.