Dec 18 2024:Â Australian stocks edged lower on Wednesday, with losses in the Financials, Consumer Discretionary, and Gold sectors weighing on the market. The S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 0.06% in Sydney.
Among the top performers, Omni Bridgeway Ltd (ASX:OBL) surged 49.48%, gaining 0.48 points to close at 1.45. Cromwell Property Group (ASX:CMW) climbed 12.16% or 0.05 points to finish at 0.41, while Kogan.com Ltd (ASX:KGN) rose 9.11% or 0.51 points to end at 6.11.
On the downside, Insignia Financial Ltd (ASX:IFL) fell 4.17% or 0.15 points to close at 3.45, making it the session’s worst performer. Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX:NIC) dropped 3.51% or 0.03 points to 0.82, and St Barbara Ltd (ASX:SBM) slipped 1.61% or 0.01 points to 0.31.
Declining stocks outpaced advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 566 to 531, with 461 stocks ending unchanged.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, a gauge of market volatility, declined by 3.91% to 9.77, marking a new one-month low.
In commodities, Gold Futures for February delivery edged up 0.06% or 1.55 to $2,663.55 per troy ounce. Crude oil for January delivery slipped 0.51% or 0.36 to settle at $69.72 per barrel, while the February Brent oil contract gained 0.11% or 0.08 to trade at $73.27 per barrel.
In currency trading, the AUD/USD pair remained unchanged at 0.63, while the AUD/JPY pair dropped 0.39% to 96.88. The US Dollar Index Futures dipped 0.04% to 106.62.
