Australia stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 up 0.46%

Australia stocks were higher after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Metals & Mining, Materials and Resources sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.46% to hit a new 1-month high.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1), which rose 9.16% or 1.47 points to trade at 17.51 at the close. Meanwhile, IperionX Limited (ASX:IPX) added 7.20% or 0.13 points to end at 1.94 and Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX:PDN) was up 6.69% or 0.47 points to 7.50 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Life360 Inc (ASX:360), which fell 4.15% or 0.89 points to trade at 20.53 at the close. AP Eagers Ltd (ASX:APE) declined 3.89% or 0.78 points to end at 19.25 and ARB Corporation Ltd (ASX:ARB) was down 3.56% or 0.61 points to 16.54.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 572 to 465 and 361 ended unchanged.

Shares in ARB Corporation Ltd (ASX:ARB) fell to 5-year lows; losing 3.56% or 0.61 to 16.54.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 2.29% to 10.96.

Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.44% or 17.63 to $4,020.77 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December fell 0.95% or 0.97 to hit $100.79 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 0.88% or 0.98 to trade at $109.76 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.04% to 0.70, while AUD/JPY rose 0.14% to 110.67.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.13% at 101.93.