Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Resources, Energy and Metals & Mining sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.49%.
The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Arrium Ltd (ASX:ARI), which rose 18.42% or 0.035 points to trade at 0.225 at the close. Meanwhile, Western Areas Ltd (ASX:WSA) added 12.36% or 0.440 points to end at 4.000 and Sirius Resources NL (ASX:SIR) was up 12.05% or 0.300 points to 2.790 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Medusa Mining Ltd (ASX:MML), which fell 6.96% or 0.063 points to trade at 0.835 at the close. Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX:NST) declined 6.48% or 0.140 points to end at 2.020 and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) was down 6.47% or 0.150 points to 2.170.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 286 to 279 and 46 ended unchanged.
Shares in Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) fell to 5-year lows; falling 6.47% or 0.150 to 2.170.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 0.51% to 15.455.
Gold for February delivery was down 0.15% or 1.90 to $1291.80 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude Oil for delivery in March fell 0.60% or 0.28 to hit $47.49 a barrel, while the March Brent Oil contract rose 0.50% or 0.24 to trade at $48.96 a barrel.
AUD/USD was down 0.25% to 0.8066, while AUD/JPY fell 0.04% to 95.34.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.19% at 93.18.