Australian equities finished the trading session in Sydney on Thursday in negative territory, driven by declines in the Gold, Metals & Mining and IT sectors. At the close, the S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.62%.
Advancers were outnumbered by decliners on the Sydney exchange, with 687 stocks falling compared with 481 gaining. A further 387 issues finished unchanged.
Top and bottom performers
On the S&P/ASX 200, Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) was the session's strongest performer, rising 4.79% or 0.95 points to finish at 20.78. The stock reached a three-year high during the trading session. Mesoblast Ltd (ASX:MSB) gained 4.05% or 0.08 points to close at 2.06, while SGH Ltd (ASX:SGH) added 2.88% or 1.23 points to end at 43.69.
Among the weakest names, Generation Development Group Ltd (ASX:GDG) fell 4.93% or 0.19 points to 3.57 at the close. Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX:NIC) declined 4.48% or 0.05 points to finish at 0.96, and Seek Ltd (ASX:SEK) was down 4.34% or 0.61 points to 13.34.
Volatility and commodities
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, a measure of implied volatility for options on the S&P/ASX 200, rose 0.42% to 12.24.
Commodities moved notably during the session. Gold futures for August delivery fell 1.28% or 56.28 to $4,325.12 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for July delivery dropped 3.23% or 2.48 to $74.31 a barrel, while the August Brent contract fell 2.89% or 2.30 to trade at $77.25 a barrel.
Foreign exchange and dollar index
Currency markets showed modest moves. AUD/USD was unchanged 0.36% to 0.70, and AUD/JPY rose 0.34% to 113.06. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.11% at 99.98.
Investment note included in the session brief
A brief investment promotion was included in the session material asking, "Should you invest $2,000 in MSB right now?" that described an AI-driven analysis service which evaluates MSB alongside thousands of other companies every month across more than 100 financial metrics. The note explained the service uses AI to assess fundamentals, momentum, and valuation and highlighted past winners cited by the service. It invited readers to check whether MSB appears in any current strategies.
This wrap reflects the closing prices and market indicators reported at the end of Thursday's trading session in Sydney.