Australia stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the IT, Energy and Consumer Discretionary sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.52% to hit a new 1-month high.
The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Speedcast International Ltd (ASX:SDA), which rose 9.61% or 0.110 points to trade at 1.255 at the close. Meanwhile, Cooper Energy Ltd (ASX:COE) added 5.98% or 0.035 points to end at 0.620 and AMP Ltd (ASX:AMP) was up 5.42% or 0.090 points to 1.750 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX:PME), which fell 12.09% or 4.590 points to trade at 33.380 at the close. Charter Hall Group (ASX:CHC) declined 5.70% or 0.730 points to end at 12.080 and Saracen Mineral Holdings Ltd (ASX:SAR) was down 5.07% or 0.190 points to 3.560.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 688 to 559 and 351 ended unchanged.
Shares in Cooper Energy Ltd (ASX:COE) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 5.98% or 0.035 to 0.620.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 4.82% to 13.008 a new 1-month low.
Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.49% or 7.45 to $1518.05 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October rose 0.21% or 0.12 to hit $56.42 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract rose 0.16% or 0.10 to trade at $61.05 a barrel.
AUD/USD was up 0.15% to 0.6824, while AUD/JPY rose 0.28% to 73.06.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.09% at 98.292.
