The Australian sharemarket closed at another record high on Thursday as optimism over a potential U.S.-Iran agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz lifted investor sentiment.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 43.8 points, or 0.5%, to 9,271.6, with eight of the 11 sectors finishing in positive territory.
The Materials sector led the advance after copper prices reached record highs overnight in the United States.
BHP and Fortescue gained 0.5% and 1.4%, respectively.
Rio Tinto eased 0.02% after Glencore said late Wednesday it would pursue a secondary listing on the ASX following the collapse of merger discussions with Rio earlier this year.
Gold miners also outperformed as spot gold prices remained at seven-week highs. Northern Star Resources climbed 3.3%, Evolution Mining gained 3.8%, and Newmont rose 3.7%.
The Health Care sector posted solid gains, with CSL adding 1.3%, Ramsay Health Care rising 1.8%, and Cochlear advancing 3.3%.
Financial stocks also finished higher. Commonwealth Bank gained 0.9%, National Australia Bank rose 0.4%, Westpac ended flat, and ANZ added 0.3%.
The technology sector came under pressure following the overnight sell-off in U.S. technology stocks, with WiseTech Global falling 1.5% and Life360 declining 2.1%.
Among individual companies, REA Group climbed 3.4% after reporting full-year revenue of A$1.793 billion for the year ended 30 June, up 7% from the previous corresponding period (pcp).
AMP surged 6% after posting underlying net profit after tax of $174 million for the six months to 30 June, an increase of 33% from a year earlier.
Block fell 2% despite reporting stronger-than-expected U.S. earnings. The payments company generated adjusted EBITDA of US$1.169 billion (A$1.64 billion) in the second quarter, up 31.1% from the pcp.
On the bond markets, 10-year and two-year Australian government bond yields fell 0.2% and 0.5% to 4.924% and 4.517%, respectively.
