Australia stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Utilities, Healthcare and Consumer Staples sectors led shares lower.
At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.79% to hit a new 1-month low.
The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Syrah Resources Ltd (AX:SYR), which rose 4.67% or 0.105 points to trade at 2.355 at the close. Meanwhile, Ausdrill Ltd (AX:ASL) added 4.43% or 0.070 points to end at 1.650 and Sandfire Resources NL (AX:SFR) was up 3.67% or 0.240 points to 6.780 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were G8 Education Ltd (AX:GEM), which fell 5.15% or 0.105 points to trade at 1.935 at the close. Mcmillan Shakespeare Ltd (AX:MMS) declined 3.43% or 0.610 points to end at 17.170 and Woolworths Ltd (AX:WOW) was down 3.31% or 0.940 points to 27.480.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 586 to 573 and 359 ended unchanged.
Shares in G8 Education Ltd (AX:GEM) fell to 5-year lows; down 5.15% or 0.105 to 1.935.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 4.01% to 13.421.
Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.11% or 1.30 to $1209.60 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October fell 0.65% or 0.46 to hit $69.91 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract fell 0.50% or 0.40 to trade at $79.34 a barrel.
AUD/USD was up 0.15% to 0.7180, while AUD/JPY rose 0.31% to 80.02.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.08% at 94.90.
