Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Gold, Metals & Mining and Materials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.47%.
The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Graincorp Ltd (ASX:GNC), which rose 5.75% or 0.50 points to trade at 9.19 at the close. Meanwhile, Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX:GOR) added 4.68% or 0.07 points to end at 1.57 and Nufarm Ltd (ASX:NUF) was up 4.07% or 0.25 points to 6.40 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX:PTM), which fell 15.02% or 0.34 points to trade at 1.90 at the close. Perenti Global Ltd (ASX:PRN) declined 3.40% or 0.03 points to end at 0.71 and Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX:PBH) was down 3.27% or 0.11 points to 3.25.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 836 to 606 and 398 ended unchanged.
Shares in Graincorp Ltd (ASX:GNC) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 5.75% or 0.50 to 9.19. Shares in Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX:PTM) fell to all time lows; down 15.02% or 0.34 to 1.90. Shares in Nufarm Ltd (ASX:NUF) rose to 52-week highs; rising 4.07% or 0.25 to 6.40. Shares in Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX:PBH) fell to 52-week lows; losing 3.27% or 0.11 to 3.25.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 5.18% to 12.12.
Gold Futures for June delivery was down 0.34% or 6.60 to $1,931.20 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 0.31% or 0.30 to hit $96.33 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose 0.14% or 0.14 to trade at $100.72 a barrel.
AUD/USD was unchanged 0.21% to 0.75, while AUD/JPY fell 0.09% to 92.60.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.16% at 99.92.