Australian stocks finished the trading day in negative territory on Tuesday, with sector-level weakness in Gold, Consumer Discretionary and Utilities driving the S&P/ASX 200 lower.
At the close in Sydney the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index had declined 0.64%.
Top performers
- Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX:LTR) led gains on the index, rising 4.39% or 0.10 points to trade at 2.38 at the close.
- Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) added 4.03% or 0.31 points to end at 8.01.
- Reliance Worldwide Corporation Ltd (ASX:RWC) rose 3.95% or 0.12 points to 3.16 in late trade.
Lagging stocks
- Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX:DMP) was the weakest on the index, falling 10.68% or 1.90 points to trade at 15.86 at the close.
- Graincorp Ltd (ASX:GNC) declined 5.12% or 0.33 points to end at 6.12.
- Austal Ltd (ASX:ASB) slipped 4.89% or 0.22 points to 4.28.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney exchange by 741 to 434, while 360 stocks finished unchanged.
Notable technical milestones during the session included Liontown Resources reaching 52-week highs, gaining 4.39% or 0.10 to 2.38, while Austal fell to 52-week lows, down 4.89% or 0.22 to 4.28.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, a gauge of implied volatility for S&P/ASX 200 options, was lower by 0.50% at 13.11, indicating a modest easing in expected market volatility.
Commodities traded with mixed results. Gold Futures for June delivery declined 1.03% or 48.41 to $4,645.29 a troy ounce. Energy contracts moved higher: Crude oil for June delivery rose 1.51% or 1.46 to hit $97.83 a barrel, while the July Brent oil contract increased 1.43% or 1.45 to trade at $103.14 a barrel.
Currency and dollar measures showed limited movement. AUD/USD was unchanged 0.13% to 0.72, while AUD/JPY fell 0.27% to 114.25. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.12% at 98.43.
This session's data point to a market where sector-specific losses outweighed pockets of strength, with commodity price shifts and currency moves contributing to the backdrop for equity performance.