Australia stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 down 0.22%

Investing.com – Australia stocks were lower after the close on Monday, as losses in the , and sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Sydney, the lost 0.22%.

The best performers of the session on the were GUD Holdings Ltd (ASX:), which rose 3.91% or 0.39 points to trade at 10.37 at the close. Meanwhile, Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:) added 3.81% or 0.19 points to end at 5.18 and Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:) was up 3.29% or 0.22 points to 6.91 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Mesoblast Ltd (ASX:), which fell 12.77% or 0.06 points to trade at 0.41 at the close. St Barbara Ltd (ASX:) declined 6.38% or 0.02 points to end at 0.22 and Resmed Inc DRC (ASX:) was down 4.23% or 1.30 points to 29.40.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 713 to 548 and 427 ended unchanged.

Shares in GUD Holdings Ltd (ASX:) rose to 52-week highs; rising 3.91% or 0.39 to 10.37. Shares in Mesoblast Ltd (ASX:) fell to 5-year lows; down 12.77% or 0.06 to 0.41. Shares in St Barbara Ltd (ASX:) fell to 5-year lows; losing 6.38% or 0.02 to 0.22. Shares in Resmed Inc DRC (ASX:) fell to 52-week lows; losing 4.23% or 1.30 to 29.40.

The , which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 2.77% to 11.81.

Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.22% or 4.40 to $1,971.70 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September fell 0.22% or 0.18 to hit $82.64 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract fell 0.17% or 0.15 to trade at $86.09 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.09% to 0.66, while AUD/JPY rose 0.37% to 93.50.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.14% at 101.98.