Investing.com – Australia equities were higher at the close on Thursday, as gains in indices and sectors led shares higher.
At the close of trading in Sydney, quotes rose 0.39%, reaching a new all-time high.
The best performers of the session were Appen, LLC (ASX:) which rose 17.46% or 0.11 points to trade at 0.74 at the close. Meanwhile, mesoblast Ltd (ASX:) rose 9.68% or 0.03p to finish at 0.34, while Zip Co Ltd (ASX:) rose 8.33% or 0. 10 p., to 1.27 at the end of trading.
The worst performers of the session were St Barbara Ltd (ASX:), which fell 5.41% or 0.01 points to trade at 0.18 at the close. Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX:) shares were down 4.17% or 0.05 points to finish at 1.15. Kodan Ltd (ASX:) were down 3.63%, or 0.39 points, at 10.36.
Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 650 to 526, with 329 ending unchanged.
Zip Co Ltd (ASX:) shares rise to 52-week high; an increase of 8.33% or from 0.10 to 1.27.
The index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was unchanged 0.04% at 10.92.
Gold futures for April delivery rose 0.30%, or 6.50, to $2,164.70 a troy ounce. In commodities trading, crude oil for April delivery fell 0.09%, or 0.07, to $79.06 a barrel, while the May Brent contract fell 0.12%, or 0. .10, to $82.86 per barrel.
AUD/USD was unchanged 0.29% at 0.66 and AUD/JPY fell 0.31% to 97.77.
US Dollar Index futures fell 0.11% to 103.21.