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

Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the , and sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Sydney, the added 0.50%.

The best performers of the session on the were Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX:), which rose 8.54% or 0.085 points to trade at 1.080 at the close. Meanwhile, Alumina Ltd (ASX:) added 6.34% or 0.130 points to end at 2.180 and South32 Ltd (ASX:) was up 5.88% or 0.190 points to 3.420 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Polynovo Ltd (ASX:), which fell 5.67% or 0.115 points to trade at 1.915 at the close. Omni Bridgeway Ltd (ASX:) declined 5.28% or 0.21 points to end at 3.77 and Chorus Ltd (ASX:) was down 2.95% or 0.20 points to 6.59.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 852 to 508 and 426 ended unchanged.

Shares in Polynovo Ltd (ASX:) fell to 52-week lows; falling 5.67% or 0.115 to 1.915. Shares in Alumina Ltd (ASX:) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 6.34% or 0.130 to 2.180. Shares in South32 Ltd (ASX:) rose to 52-week highs; rising 5.88% or 0.190 to 3.420.

The , which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 6.50% to 11.772.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.16% or 2.80 to $1802.80 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October rose 1.17% or 0.80 to hit $68.94 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract rose 1.27% or 0.91 to trade at $72.36 a barrel.

AUD/USD was up 0.35% to 0.7392, while AUD/JPY rose 0.59% to 81.29.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.05% at 92.433.