Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the , and sectors led shares higher.

The gain was 0.4% at the Sydney close.

They were the top performers at the session Crown Ltd (ASX) climbed 8.75% or 1.020 point to trade at 12.650 by the close. Meanwhile, Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX) gained 5.16%, or 0.080 point to close at 1.630 Champion Iron Ltd The ASX: was trading at 6.420, up 4.39% (or 0.270 points) in late trade.

Polynovo Ltd. ASX: was among the worst-performing stocks of the session. It fell 10.08%, or 0.185 points, to trade at 1.650 by the end. Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX 🙂 fell 5.85%, or 0.39 points, to finish at 6.28. Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX 🙂 dropped 5.60%, or 2.45 point to 41.27.

Stocks that are rising outnumbered those in decline on the Sydney Stock Exchange were 766 to 6,89 and 389 respectively.

Nickel Mines Ltd. shares (ASX) reached all-time highs. They rose 5.16%, or 0.080 to 1.630.

The , which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 2.60% to 12.645.

The February delivery of Gold Futures was 0.2% lower at $1826.95 per troy ounce. In commodities trading, crude oil delivery for February dropped 0.50%, or 0.41, to $82.23 per barrel. The March Brent oil contract, however, fell 0.42 or 0.50% to trade at $84.25 per barrel.

AUD/USD rose 0.2% to 0.7301 while AUD/JPY rose 0.09% at 83.57.

US Dollar Index Futures were down 0.1% at 94.802.