Australia stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 up 0.50%

Australia stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Financials, A-REITs and Energy sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.50% to hit a new 1-month high.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Mesoblast Ltd (ASX:MSB), which rose 22.87% or 0.43 points to trade at 2.31 at the close. Meanwhile, IperionX Limited (ASX:IPX) added 15.71% or 0.33 points to end at 2.43 and Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:NEU) was up 6.39% or 1.21 points to 20.16 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA), which fell 16.59% or 0.38 points to trade at 1.89 at the close. Pls Group Ltd (ASX:PLS) declined 7.53% or 0.23 points to end at 2.77 and Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX:LTR) was down 4.61% or 0.03 points to 0.67.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 509 to 483 and 348 ended unchanged.

Shares in Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) fell to 5-year lows; down 16.59% or 0.38 to 1.89.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 1.75% to 10.76.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.09% or 3.77 to $4,055.37 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December fell 1.58% or 1.62 to hit $101.16 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 1.48% or 1.65 to trade at $109.99 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.01% to 0.71, while AUD/JPY rose 0.03% to 111.35.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.05% at 102.08.