Australian stocks experienced a decline at the close of Monday's trading session, with the Metals & Mining, Resources, and Materials sectors leading the market lower.
By the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 recorded a 1.82% decrease.
Top performers on the S&P/ASX 200 included Appen Ltd (ASX:APX), which saw a 7.95% increase, rising by 0.06 points to 0.81 by the closing bell. EML Payments Ltd (ASX:EML) added 4.02%, or 0.04 points, closing at 1.03, and Iress Ltd (ASX:IRE) experienced a 3.42% gain, or 0.29 points, closing at 8.78 during late trade.
Conversely, the session's worst performers featured St Barbara Ltd (ASX:SBM), which fell 8.33%, or 0.02 points, closing at 0.17. Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) declined by 5.10%, or 0.40 points, finishing at 7.44, and Regis Resources Ltd (ASX:RRL) was down 4.23%, or 0.09 points, closing at 1.92.
On the Sydney Stock Exchange, falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones, with 747 declining, 428 advancing, and 344 remaining unchanged.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, measuring the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, rose by 15.34% to 13.09, reaching a new 3-month high.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for April delivery increased by 0.09%, or 1.95, reaching $2,187.45 per troy ounce. Crude oil for April delivery fell by 0.72%, or 0.56, closing at $77.45 per barrel, and the May Brent oil contract dropped by 0.67%, or 0.55, trading at $81.53 per barrel.
The AUD/USD remained unchanged at 0.66%, while the AUD/JPY decreased by 0.25%, reaching 97.17.
The US Dollar Index Futures showed a minimal decrease of 0.01%, settling at 102.32.
Paraphrasing text from "Investing" all rights reserved by the original author.
