Investing.com – Australia stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the IT, Consumer Discretionary and Energy sectors led shares lower.
At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.02%.
The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Bingo Industries Ltd (ASX:BIN), which rose 5.08% or 0.100 points to trade at 2.070 at the close. Meanwhile, Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX:CLW) added 2.58% or 0.130 points to end at 5.170 and Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd (ASX:CCL) was up 2.51% or 0.250 points to 10.200 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX:APT), which fell 12.05% or 3.090 points to trade at 22.550 at the close. Challenger Ltd (ASX:CGF) declined 9.01% or 0.690 points to end at 6.970 and Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd (ASX:HVN) was down 7.42% or 0.320 points to 3.990.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 667 to 539 and 390 ended unchanged.
Shares in Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX:CLW) rose to all time highs; up 2.58% or 0.130 to 5.170. Shares in Challenger Ltd (ASX:CGF) fell to 3-years lows; down 9.01% or 0.690 to 6.970.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 0.44% to 13.885.
Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.30% or 4.05 to $1340.85 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July rose 2.93% or 1.50 to hit $52.64 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract rose 3.59% or 2.15 to trade at $62.12 a barrel.
AUD/USD was down 0.29% to 0.6908, while AUD/JPY fell 0.43% to 74.83.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.07% at 96.900.