Australia Stocks Higher at Close of Trade; S&P/ASX 200 Up 0.61%

Australia’s stock market closed higher on Thursday, driven by gains in various sectors. The index rose by 0.61%, achieving a new all-time high.

Highlighting the session’s best performers was Sims Metal Management Ltd, which saw an increase of 12.42%, rising 1.37 points to close at 12.40. Additionally, Zip Co Ltd climbed 9.24%, gaining 0.22 points to finish at 2.60, while Nuix Ltd experienced a rise of 7.13%, up 0.39 points to close at 5.86.

Conversely, the worst-performing stocks of the session included ALS Ltd, which dropped 8.36%, down 1.25 points to close at 13.70. EML Payments Ltd saw a decline of 4.96%, down 0.04 points to end at 0.67, and Computershare Ltd fell by 3.91%, down 1.06 points to 26.03.

Overall, there were 646 gaining stocks compared to 447 declining ones, while 428 remained unchanged on the Sydney Stock Exchange.

Zip Co Ltd reached a 52-week high, showing a gain of 9.24% to 2.60, while EML Payments Ltd hit a 52-week low, recording a drop of 4.96% to 0.67. Nuix Ltd also reached a three-year high, up 7.13% to 5.86.

The implied volatility measure for S&P/ASX 200 options fell by 0.47%, landing at 11.76.

In commodities, gold futures for December delivery rose by 0.08%, or 2.15, to $2,600.75 per troy ounce. Crude oil for November delivery increased by 0.69%, or 0.48, reaching $70.36 per barrel, and the November Brent oil contract rose 0.65%, also up 0.48, to $74.13 per barrel.

In currency trading, the AUD/USD remained stable at 0.68, while AUD/JPY increased by 1.06% to 97.16. The US Dollar Index Futures rose by 0.29% to 100.58.