Australia stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 down 1.80%

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

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.80%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS ), which rose 4.48% or 0.06 points to trade at 1.40 at the close. Meanwhile, Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP ) added 3.28% or 0.14 points to end at 4.41 and Cromwell Property Group (ASX: CMW ) was up 4.23% or 0.02 points to 0.37 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC ), which fell 14.14% or 0.07 points to trade at 0.43 at the close. Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA ) declined 14.16% or 0.65 points to end at 3.94 and Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN ) was down 12.09% or 1.98 points to 14.40.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 855 to 292 and 366 ended unchanged.

Shares in Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC ) fell to 5-year lows; down 14.14% or 0.07 to 0.43. Shares in Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA ) fell to 3-years lows; down 14.16% or 0.65 to 3.94. Shares in Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN ) fell to 5-year lows; down 12.09% or 1.98 to 14.40.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX , which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 5.56% to 22.06.

Gold Futures for June delivery was up 2.07% or 61.89 to $3,052.09 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May fell 2.53% or 1.51 to hit $58.07 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract fell 2.23% or 1.40 to trade at $61.42 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.59% to 0.60, while AUD/JPY rose 0.02% to 87.16.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.79% at 101.89.