Investing.com – Australia equities were higher at the close on Thursday, as gains in the Utilities, Real Estate Investment and Telecoms Services sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.23%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Aconex Ltd (AX:ACX), which rose 6.77% or 0.210 points to trade at 3.310 at the close. Vocus Fpo (AX:VOC) added 6.73% or 0.270 points to end at 4.280 and Isentia Group Ltd (AX:ISD) was up 6.35% or 0.160 points to 2.680 in late trade.
Biggest losers included CSR Ltd (AX:CSR), which lost 4.13% or 0.180 points to trade at 4.180 in late trade. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (AX:FMG) declined 3.64% or 0.240 points to end at 6.360 and Credit Corp Group Ltd (AX:CCP) shed 3.47% or 0.590 points to 16.400.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 579 to 483 and 332 ended unchanged on the Sydney Stock Exchange.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 5.03% to 11.944 a new 1-month low.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.25% or 3.05 to $1242.55 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in March rose 0.52% or 0.27 to hit $52.61 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 0.56% or 0.31 to trade at $55.43 a barrel.
AUD/USD was down 0.29% to 0.7623, while AUD/JPY fell 0.01% to 85.57.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.19% at 100.33.