The Australian sharemarket rose on Tuesday, tracking record highs on Wall Street and a rally in the Energy and Materials sectors.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 24.7 points or 0.3% to 8,877.7, with six of the 11 sectors in positive territory.
Energy stocks led the advance, in line with higher crude oil prices, with Woodside up 0.3%, Santos adding 0.4% and Viva Energy gaining 2.3%.
The materials sector led gains, as iron ore traded at US$106.55 a tonne on the Singapore exchange.
Heavyweights BHP rose 0.5%, Rio Tinto added 1.9%, and Fortescue Metals advanced 1.1%.
Gold miners also saw renewed buying as bullion traded at record highs ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision.
Northern Star and Evolution Mining added 0.5% apiece, while St Barbara surged 21.8% after the gold miner reported that the Papua New Guinea government received the required documents to approve an extension of the company's Simberi mining lease until 2038.
Consumer discretionary shares also strengthened, with JB Hi-Fi up 2%, Tabcorp adding 1%, Wesfarmers lifting 1.3%, and Harvey Norman finishing 3.1% higher.
In corporate news, CSL fell 1.3% after announcing it would invest up to $760 million (US$505 million) in Dutch biotech company VarmX.
Super Retail Group slid 4.3% following the dismissal of group managing director and chief executive Anthony Heraghty over an undisclosed relationship with the company’s former chief human resources officer.
Coal miner New Hope jumped 5.1% after reporting a full-year net profit of $439.4 million and declaring a fully franked dividend of 15 cents per share.
On the bond markets, yields eased, with the 10-year rate down 0.3% at 4.225% and the 2-year yield 0.2% lower at 3.378%.
