Australian stocks ended lower on Monday as declines in consumer discretionary, financials and A-REIT sectors weighed on the broader market.
S&P/ASX 200 Declines
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.46% at the close in Sydney, with losses across key sectors driving the market lower.
Top Performers
Mesoblast Ltd was the strongest performer on the S&P/ASX 200, rising 10.86% or 0.24 points to close at 2.45.
IperionX Limited gained 7.29% or 0.24 points to finish at 3.53, while Steadfast Group Ltd increased 5.36% or 0.28 points to close at 5.61.
Worst Performers
JB Hi-Fi Ltd was the weakest performer, falling 11.65% or 9.52 points to close at 72.19.
Lend Lease Group declined 11.46% or 0.37 points to end at 2.86, while Aurizon Holdings Ltd dropped 9.62% or 0.40 points to finish at 3.76.
Market Activity and Commodities
Declining stocks narrowly outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange, with 562 stocks rising, 538 falling and 415 ending unchanged.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures implied volatility for ASX 200 options, increased 1.15% to 11.10.
Gold futures for December delivery gained 0.39% to $4,454.67 per troy ounce. Crude oil futures for October delivery fell 0.48% to $81.08 per barrel, while Brent crude declined 0.15% to $88.39 per barrel.
AUD/USD was unchanged at 0.71, while AUD/JPY rose 0.24% to 113.17.
