The Australian sharemarket extended Friday’s advance and ascended to record levels in the Monday morning session, hitting the highest ever intraday peak of 7392 before lunchtime.
A blue-chip rally has propelled the Australian benchmark index to unknown heights, as gains by the fourteen largest stocks supercharged the broader upturn. Most sectors were in positive territory, as healthcare and consumer staples blew the most steam into the advance engine.
Financials were also in bullish mode, as all the big four banks were tracking higher by midday.
Information technology also fed off momentum from the US tech surge overnight, as both Afterpay
(ASX:APT) and Xero
(ASX:XRO) gained as much as 2.4 per cent by 11.40am.
The only weak link letting the ASX200 team down was materials, as gold miners such as Newcrest Mining
(ASX:NCM) and Northern Star Resources
(ASX:NST) sagged 1.9 per cent and 3 per cent respectively by noon.
At noon, the S&P/ASX 200 is 1.00 per cent or 73.20 points higher at 7385.50.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 42 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Health Care, up 2.26 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Materials, down 0.02 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is The A2 Milk Company (ASX:A2M), trading 7.78 per cent higher at $6.17. It is followed by shares in ResMed (ASX:RMD) and Iluka Resources (ASX:ILU).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Austal (ASX:ASB), trading 7.94 per cent lower at $2.15. It is followed by shares in PointsBet Holdings (ASX:PBH) and Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1861.41 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.7 per cent higher at US$220.77 a ton.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 1.07 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 76.98 US cents.
