Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.27% at the close of trade on Friday, reflecting broad weakness across real estate investment trusts, consumer discretionary and healthcare shares.
The index’s implied volatility gauge, the S&P/ASX 200 VIX, eased 3.13% to 10.51, signaling reduced near-term market anxiety. Advancing issues slightly outnumbered decliners on the Sydney exchange, with 557 stocks rising against 537 falling and 399 unchanged.
Among the top gainers, fast-food operator Guzman Y Gomez Ltd surged 11.51% to close at A$26.73, while TPG Telecom Ltd added 7.51% to A$3.80 and lithium explorer Liontown Resources Ltd rose 5.60% to A$1.27. The sharpest losses were seen in Zip Co Ltd, which fell 14.43% to A$2.61, Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd, down 10.13% at A$15.62, and Super Retail Group Ltd, which declined 7.54% to A$13.36.
Commodities showed mixed performance, with gold futures for December delivery up 0.88% at $4,611.54 per troy ounce. Crude oil prices retreated, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate for October delivery down 0.53% at $86.37 per barrel and Brent crude for the same month falling 0.35% to $93.45 per barrel.
The Australian dollar held steady against the U.S. dollar, trading flat at 0.71, while the yen cross advanced 0.39% to 113.58. The U.S. Dollar Index futures were down 0.13% at 98.68.
