Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Energy, Gold and Resources sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.06%.
The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were AGL Energy Ltd (ASX:AGL), which rose 9.73% or 0.94 points to trade at 10.60 at the close. Meanwhile, Austal Ltd (ASX:ASB) added 9.17% or 0.21 points to end at 2.50 and Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) was up 8.81% or 0.23 points to 2.84 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX:SGR), which fell 5.41% or 0.06 points to trade at 1.05 at the close. Adbri Ltd (ASX:ABC) declined 3.25% or 0.08 points to end at 2.38 and Collins Foods Ltd (ASX:CKF) was down 3.03% or 0.24 points to 7.69.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 787 to 538 and 427 ended unchanged.
Shares in AGL Energy Ltd (ASX:AGL) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 9.73% or 0.94 to 10.60. Shares in Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX:SGR) fell to all time lows; falling 5.41% or 0.06 to 1.05.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 0.66% to 10.50.
Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.21% or 4.15 to $1,974.85 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July fell 0.08% or 0.06 to hit $70.56 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract fell 0.04% or 0.03 to trade at $75.64 a barrel.
AUD/USD was unchanged 0.04% to 0.69, while AUD/JPY rose 0.40% to 96.96.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.11% at 101.83.