Investing.com – Australia stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Gold, A-REITs and Consumer Staples sectors led shares lower.
At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.24%.
The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Washington H Soul Pattinson&Co Ltd (ASX:SOL), which rose 5.61% or 2.03 points to trade at 38.23 at the close. Meanwhile, Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) added 4.69% or 8.030 points to end at 179.130 and Technology One Ltd (ASX:TNE) was up 4.65% or 0.52 points to 11.71 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were St Barbara Ltd (ASX:SBM), which fell 6.09% or 0.095 points to trade at 1.465 at the close. AP Eagers Ltd (ASX:APE) declined 5.94% or 1.03 points to end at 16.31 and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX:NST) was down 5.28% or 0.520 points to 9.330.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 813 to 584 and 396 ended unchanged.
Shares in Washington H Soul Pattinson&Co Ltd (ASX:SOL) rose to all time highs; rising 5.61% or 2.03 to 38.23. Shares in St Barbara Ltd (ASX:SBM) fell to 5-year lows; losing 6.09% or 0.095 to 1.465. Shares in Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) rose to all time highs; gaining 4.69% or 8.030 to 179.130. Shares in Technology One Ltd (ASX:TNE) rose to all time highs; up 4.65% or 0.52 to 11.71.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 11.81% to 11.605.
Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.20% or 3.65 to $1802.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October rose 0.66% or 0.45 to hit $68.80 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract rose 0.49% or 0.35 to trade at $72.04 a barrel.
AUD/USD was down 0.17% to 0.7372, while AUD/JPY fell 0.21% to 81.25.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.05% at 92.560.