Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Healthcare, Financials and Industrials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.10%.
The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Western Areas Ltd (ASX:WSA), which rose 6.07% or 0.150 points to trade at 2.620 at the close. Meanwhile, UGL Ltd (ASX:UGL) added 5.31% or 0.100 points to end at 1.985 and Navitas Ltd (ASX:NVT) was up 5.29% or 0.210 points to 4.180 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Seven West Media Ltd (ASX:SWM), which fell 11.04% or 0.090 points to trade at 0.725 at the close. Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (ASX:LNG) declined 7.09% or 0.190 points to end at 2.490 and Drillsearch Energy Ltd (ASX:DLS) was down 6.45% or 0.040 points to 0.580.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Australia Stock Exchange by 636 to 355 and 136 ended unchanged.
Shares in Seven West Media Ltd (ASX:SWM) fell to all time lows; losing 11.04% or 0.090 to 0.725. Shares in Drillsearch Energy Ltd (ASX:DLS) fell to 3-years lows; falling 6.45% or 0.040 to 0.580.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 3.26% to 29.257.
Gold for December delivery was up 0.06% or 0.70 to $1140.50 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October fell 1.97% or 0.90 to hit $44.52 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract fell 1.54% or 0.77 to trade at $48.80 a barrel.
AUD/USD was up 0.07% to 0.7021, while AUD/JPY rose 0.61% to 84.25.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.22% at 95.60.