The Australian sharemarket hovered near record highs on Monday, amid strong performances from the technology and consumer discretionary sectors.
The S&P/ASX 200 added 11.7 points or 0.1% to 8,447.9, closing just shy of the all-time high of 8,477.1 set last Thursday.
Technology stocks led the market, climbing 1.1%, while healthcare shares lagged, dragged down by a 0.6% decline in CSL Limited.
In corporate news, Northern Star Resources, Australia's largest gold miner, announced an A$5 billion acquisition of De Grey Mining. De Grey’s shares soared nearly 29.6% to $1.97.
Meanwhile, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed retail sales rose 0.6% in October, surpassing the expected 0.4% increase and building on a modest 0.1% rise in September.
On the bond markets, Australian 10-year and 2-year yields held steady at 4.34% and 3.98%, respectively.