Australia stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 up 0.06%

Australian stocks ended Monday's trading session on a firmer note, propelled by gains across the Energy, Resources and Materials sectors.

In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 finished the day up 0.06%.

At the top of the S&P/ASX 200, Ingenia Communities Group (ASX:INA) climbed 15.34%, or 0.56 points, to close at 4.21. Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) gained 7.51%, or 0.63 points, ending at 9.02, while Generation Development Group Ltd (ASX:GDG) advanced 6.31%, or 0.20 points, to 3.37 in late trading.

The session's laggards included Mesoblast Ltd (ASX:MSB), which fell 5.88%, or 0.14 points, to settle at 2.24. Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX:SUL) slid 4.62%, or 0.62 points, to close at 12.80, and Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC) dropped 4.27%, or 1.61 points, to 36.08.

On the Sydney Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancers by 632 to 438, with 417 stocks ending unchanged.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, a gauge of implied volatility for S&P/ASX 200 options, slipped 0.33% to 10.56.

Gold futures for December delivery declined 0.82%, or $36.49, to $4,440.11 per troy ounce. In other commodities, crude oil for October delivery climbed 1.27%, or $1.16, to $92.64 a barrel, while November Brent crude rose 1.31%, or $1.26, to $97.54 a barrel.

In currency markets, AUD/USD was effectively unchanged at 0.72, a 0.11% move, while AUD/JPY declined 0.24% to 112.30.

U.S. Dollar Index futures eased 0.08% to 99.07.