Australia stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 down 1.18%

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At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.18% to hit a new 1-month low.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Polynovo Ltd (ASX:PNV), which rose 3.33% or 0.03 points to trade at 0.93 at the close. Meanwhile, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) added 3.23% or 0.77 points to end at 24.60 and Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) was up 2.63% or 0.13 points to 5.08 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were News Corp B DRC (ASX:NWS), which fell 8.83% or 2.35 points to trade at 24.25 at the close. Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) declined 8.56% or 0.69 points to end at 7.37 and Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX:MFG) was down 8.41% or 1.45 points to 15.80.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 1310 to 258 and 305 ended unchanged.

Shares in News Corp B DRC (ASX:NWS) fell to 52-week lows; down 8.83% or 2.35 to 24.25. Shares in Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) fell to 52-week lows; falling 8.56% or 0.69 to 7.37. Shares in Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) rose to 3-years highs; up 2.63% or 0.13 to 5.08.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 14.16% to 19.40 a new 1-month high.

Gold Futures for June delivery was down 0.77% or 14.45 to $1,868.35 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in June fell 1.10% or 1.21 to hit $108.56 a barrel, while the July Brent oil contract fell 0.96% or 1.08 to trade at $111.31 a barrel.

AUD/USD was down 0.93% to 0.70, while AUD/JPY fell 0.44% to 91.98.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.32% at 104.03.