Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Gold, IT and Financials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.10%.
The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX:IAG), which rose 7.81% or 0.52 points to trade at 7.18 at the close. Meanwhile, Omni Bridgeway Ltd (ASX:OBL) added 7.25% or 0.08 points to end at 1.11 and Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX:SGR) was up 4.17% or 0.02 points to 0.50 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS), which fell 5.21% or 0.17 points to trade at 3.09 at the close. Charter Hall Group (ASX:CHC) declined 4.02% or 0.47 points to end at 11.22 and IGO Ltd (ASX:IGO) was down 3.41% or 0.20 points to 5.67.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 641 to 552 and 548 ended unchanged.
Shares in Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX:IAG) rose to 3-years highs; up 7.81% or 0.52 to 7.18. Shares in Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) fell to 52-week lows; down 5.21% or 0.17 to 3.09.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 0.07% to 11.56.
Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.06% or 1.45 to $2,338.05 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August rose 0.66% or 0.54 to hit $82.28 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 0.55% or 0.47 to trade at $85.73 a barrel.
AUD/USD was unchanged 0.17% to 0.66, while AUD/JPY fell 0.10% to 106.74.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.09% at 105.67.