Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Resources, Metals & Mining and Materials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.49%.
The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX:PBH), which rose 18.21% or 0.67 points to trade at 4.35 at the close. Meanwhile, Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) added 10.61% or 0.38 points to end at 3.96 and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) was up 5.34% or 0.15 points to 2.96 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Monadelphous Group Ltd (ASX:MND), which fell 7.30% or 0.87 points to trade at 11.04 at the close. Polynovo Ltd (ASX:PNV) declined 6.36% or 0.08 points to end at 1.11 and Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX:PTM) was down 5.17% or 0.12 points to 2.20.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 810 to 649 and 362 ended unchanged.
Shares in Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 10.61% or 0.38 to 3.96. Shares in Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX:PTM) fell to all time lows; falling 5.17% or 0.12 to 2.20.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 2.74% to 16.34.
Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.49% or 9.35 to $1,931.65 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April rose 4.86% or 5.38 to hit $115.98 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract rose 5.52% or 6.23 to trade at $119.16 a barrel.
AUD/USD was unchanged 0.31% to 0.73, while AUD/JPY rose 0.47% to 84.67.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.09% at 97.50.