Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the IT, Gold and Metals & Mining sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.45%.
The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Appen Ltd (ASX:APX), which rose 10.76% or 2.660 points to trade at 27.370 at the close. Meanwhile, Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX:APT) added 9.32% or 2.410 points to end at 28.280 and Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX:PME) was up 8.95% or 2.980 points to 36.260 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Speedcast International Ltd (ASX:SDA), which fell 33.19% or 0.375 points to trade at 0.755 at the close. Ardent Leisure Ltd (ASX:ALG) declined 5.38% or 0.060 points to end at 1.055 and Bingo Industries Ltd (ASX:BIN) was down 4.66% or 0.110 points to 2.250.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 665 to 502 and 365 ended unchanged.
Shares in Speedcast International Ltd (ASX:SDA) fell to all time lows; down 33.19% or 0.375 to 0.755. Shares in Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX:PME) rose to all time highs; gaining 8.95% or 2.980 to 36.260.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 3.75% to 15.345.
Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.27% or 4.15 to $1547.65 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October rose 1.26% or 0.69 to hit $55.62 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract rose 0.95% or 0.56 to trade at $59.59 a barrel.
AUD/USD was down 0.15% to 0.6741, while AUD/JPY fell 0.07% to 71.32.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.09% at 97.993.