Australia stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 up 0.65% By Investing.com

Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the , and sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Sydney, the gained 0.65%.

The best performers of the session on the were Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX:), which rose 6.94% or 5.42 points to trade at 83.54 at the close. Meanwhile, Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:) added 6.45% or 0.24 points to end at 3.96 and Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX:) was up 4.95% or 0.11 points to 2.33 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX:), which fell 10.52% or 1.02 points to trade at 8.68 at the close. Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX:) declined 4.18% or 0.07 points to end at 1.60 and Region Re Ltd Unit (ASX:) was down 3.77% or 0.10 points to 2.55.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 700 to 518 and 394 ended unchanged.

Shares in Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX:) fell to 5-year lows; losing 10.52% or 1.02 to 8.68. Shares in Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX:) rose to 5-year highs; up 4.95% or 0.11 to 2.33.

The , which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 0.85% to 12.87.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.11% or 1.95 to $1,842.55 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February rose 0.30% or 0.22 to hit $73.89 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract rose 0.20% or 0.16 to trade at $78.85 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.01% to 0.67, while AUD/JPY rose 0.61% to 90.57.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.23% at 105.07.