Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Energy, Resources and Metals & Mining sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.30% to hit a new 1-month high.
The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Appen Ltd (ASX:APX), which rose 14.40% or 0.09 points to trade at 0.71 at the close. Meanwhile, Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) added 6.08% or 0.41 points to end at 7.24 and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) was up 4.47% or 0.16 points to 3.74 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Mesoblast Ltd (ASX:MSB), which fell 9.52% or 0.03 points to trade at 0.29 at the close. Polynovo Ltd (ASX:PNV) declined 3.55% or 0.06 points to end at 1.50 and Skycity Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX:SKC) was down 3.19% or 0.06 points to 1.67.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 590 to 558 and 408 ended unchanged.
Shares in Mesoblast Ltd (ASX:MSB) fell to all time lows; falling 9.52% or 0.03 to 0.29.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 0.37% to 10.13.
Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.07% or 1.45 to $2,047.85 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January rose 1.43% or 0.99 to hit $70.33 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract rose 1.54% or 1.14 to trade at $75.19 a barrel.
AUD/USD was unchanged 0.21% to 0.66, while AUD/JPY fell 0.02% to 95.14.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.10% at 103.61.