Australia stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 up 0.53%

Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Utilities, Financials and Consumer Discretionary sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.53%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX:PME), which rose 6.24% or 18.54 points to trade at 315.69 at the close. Meanwhile, Origin Energy Ltd (ASX:ORG) added 5.95% or 0.70 points to end at 12.55 and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) was up 6.31% or 2.14 points to 36.04 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were South32 Ltd (ASX:S32), which fell 5.23% or 0.16 points to trade at 2.90 at the close. Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) declined 3.73% or 4.39 points to end at 113.45 and Credit Corp Group Ltd (ASX:CCP) was down 2.45% or 0.42 points to 16.70.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 619 to 487 and 465 ended unchanged.

Shares in Origin Energy Ltd (ASX:ORG) rose to 5-year highs; rising 5.95% or 0.70 to 12.55. Shares in Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) rose to 5-year highs; up 6.31% or 2.14 to 36.04.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 2.09% to 10.52.

Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.02% or 0.75 to $3,407.55 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September rose 0.54% or 0.34 to hit $62.99 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract rose 0.52% or 0.34 to trade at $65.97 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.03% to 0.65, while AUD/JPY fell 0.68% to 95.81.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.11% at 97.56.