(Investing.com) Australia stocks were higher after the close on Monday, as gains in the Gold, Metals & Mining and Utilities sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.27% to hit a new 1-month high.
The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Pendal Group Ltd (ASX:PDL), which rose 18.08% or 0.81 points to trade at 5.29 at the close. Meanwhile, Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX:MFG) added 9.71% or 1.49 points to end at 16.84 and Zip Co Ltd (ASX:Z1P) was up 6.46% or 0.10 points to 1.56 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Perpetual Ltd (ASX:PPT), which fell 6.60% or 2.26 points to trade at 31.97 at the close. Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX:FBU) declined 3.25% or 0.19 points to end at 5.66 and Bank Of Queensland Ltd. (ASX:BOQ) was down 3.18% or 0.27 points to 8.23.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 906 to 636 and 370 ended unchanged.
Shares in Perpetual Ltd (ASX:PPT) fell to 52-week lows; falling 6.60% or 2.26 to 31.97. Shares in Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX:FBU) fell to 52-week lows; falling 3.25% or 0.19 to 5.66.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 3.80% to 12.65.
Gold Futures for June delivery was up 0.35% or 6.80 to $1,930.50 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 1.01% or 1.00 to hit $100.27 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose 1.00% or 1.04 to trade at $105.43 a barrel.
AUD/USD was unchanged 0.21% to 0.75, while AUD/JPY rose 0.47% to 92.14.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.02% at 98.61.
