Australia stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 down 0.60%

Investing.com – Australia stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Utilities, Financials and Energy sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.60%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX:QAN), which rose 5.36% or 0.59 points to trade at 11.59 at the close. Meanwhile, Iluka Resources Ltd (ASX:ILU) added 3.99% or 0.24 points to end at 6.25 and Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX:EVN) was up 3.90% or 0.30 points to 7.99 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were AGL Energy Ltd (ASX:AGL), which fell 12.62% or 1.29 points to trade at 8.93 at the close. Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) declined 7.55% or 0.10 points to end at 1.23 and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) was down 6.55% or 0.15 points to 2.14.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 589 to 511 and 420 ended unchanged.

Shares in Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX:QAN) rose to all time highs; gaining 5.36% or 0.59 to 11.59. Shares in AGL Energy Ltd (ASX:AGL) fell to 52-week lows; down 12.62% or 1.29 to 8.93.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 0.13% to 10.75.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.17% or 5.62 to $3,404.62 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September fell 0.41% or 0.26 to hit $62.91 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract fell 0.32% or 0.21 to trade at $65.91 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.11% to 0.65, while AUD/JPY rose 0.07% to 96.60.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.09% at 97.84.