Feb 7, 2024: Australia’s stock market closed higher on Wednesday, with gains in the Utilities, Metals & Mining, and Materials sectors driving the index higher.
At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 rose by 0.45%.
Among the top performers on the S&P/ASX 200 were Appen Ltd (ASX:APX), which surged by 10.19% or 0.03 points to trade at 0.30 at the close. Omni Bridgeway Ltd (ASX:OBL) added 7.35% or 0.10 points to close at 1.46, while Zip Co Ltd (ASX:ZIP) climbed 6.37% or 0.05 points to 0.83 in late trading.
Conversely, the session’s worst performers included Santos Ltd (ASX:STO), which dropped by 5.46% or 0.43 points to trade at 7.44 at the close. CSR Ltd (ASX:CSR) declined by 4.97% or 0.34 points to end at 6.50, and Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX:DMP) fell by 3.25% or 1.34 points to 39.93.
On the Sydney Stock Exchange, advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by 660 to 488, while 314 ended unchanged.
Shares in Zip Co Ltd (ASX:ZIP) reached a 52-week high, rising by 6.37% or 0.05 to 0.83.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, decreased by 4.79% to 11.34.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for April delivery dipped by 0.03% or 0.55 to $2,050.85 per troy ounce. Crude oil for delivery in March rose by 0.12% or 0.09 to reach $73.40 per barrel, while the April Brent oil contract increased by 0.04% or 0.03 to trade at $78.62 per barrel.
The AUD/USD pair remained unchanged at 0.65%, while the AUD/JPY pair rose by 0.07% to 96.58.
The US Dollar Index Futures fell by 0.07% to 104.00.
