Australia stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 down 1.27% By Investing.com

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

At the close in Sydney, the fell 1.27% to hit a new 52-week low.

The best performers of the session on the were Polynovo Ltd (ASX:), which rose 4.82% or 0.06 points to trade at 1.30 at the close. Meanwhile, Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:) added 4.22% or 0.36 points to end at 8.89 and Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX:) was up 3.53% or 0.37 points to 10.85 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Megaport Ltd (ASX:), which fell 11.07% or 0.65 points to trade at 5.22 at the close. Charter Hall Group (ASX:) declined 7.09% or 0.81 points to end at 10.61 and Seek Ltd (ASX:) was down 6.82% or 1.48 points to 20.23.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 1082 to 433 and 324 ended unchanged.

Shares in Megaport Ltd (ASX:) fell to 3-years lows; falling 11.07% or 0.65 to 5.22. Shares in Charter Hall Group (ASX:) fell to 52-week lows; falling 7.09% or 0.81 to 10.61. Shares in Seek Ltd (ASX:) fell to 52-week lows; losing 6.82% or 1.48 to 20.23.

The , which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 1.39% to 22.16 a new 52-week high.

Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.65% or 11.70 to $1,825.20 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July rose 0.15% or 0.18 to hit $119.11 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract rose 0.22% or 0.27 to trade at $121.44 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.64% to 0.69, while AUD/JPY rose 0.01% to 93.06.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.57% at 104.75.