Investing.com – Australia stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Consumer Staples, Gold and A-REITs sectors led shares lower.
At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.31%.
The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Brickworks Ltd (ASX:BKW), which rose 11.32% or 2.38 points to trade at 23.40 at the close. Meanwhile, Unibail Rodamco Westfield (ASX:URW) added 7.77% or 0.45 points to end at 6.24 and Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) was up 5.18% or 0.095 points to 1.930 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Altium Ltd (ASX:ALU), which fell 7.50% or 2.78 points to trade at 34.30 at the close. Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC) declined 4.04% or 1.26 points to end at 29.89 and Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) was down 3.90% or 0.52 points to 12.83.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 724 to 623 and 389 ended unchanged.
Shares in Brickworks Ltd (ASX:BKW) rose to all time highs; up 11.32% or 2.38 to 23.40. Shares in Unibail Rodamco Westfield (ASX:URW) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 7.77% or 0.45 to 6.24. Shares in Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 5.18% or 0.095 to 1.930.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 0.80% to 12.899.
Gold Futures for August delivery was down 0.04% or 0.85 to $1893.55 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July rose 0.39% or 0.27 to hit $70.32 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract rose 0.33% or 0.24 to trade at $72.46 a barrel.
AUD/USD was up 0.08% to 0.7746, while AUD/JPY rose 0.05% to 84.80.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.00% at 90.075.