The Australian sharemarket advanced on Thursday, lifted by gains in technology and consumer discretionary stocks, following a record-setting session on Wall Street overnight.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index added 12.3 points or 0.2% to close at 8,474.9, just 0.2% below its previous record finish on Tuesday.
Six of 11 sectors posted gains, with information technology leading the way, climbing 1.1%.
Standout performers included WiseTech, up 1.9%, and TechnologyOne, which gained 2.8% to $32.08.
Consumer discretionary stocks also strengthened, as Tabcorp rose 4.6% and Breville advanced 3.7%.
Among individual companies, HMC Capital gained 1.7% after announcing its A$950 million acquisition of Victorian assets from French renewable energy developer Neoen.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major benchmarks touched record highs as the Dow gained 0.7%, the S&P 500 lifted 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.3%.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin surged to an all-time high of US$100,000 (A$155,414) on Thursday, spurred by President-elect Donald Trump’s appointment of cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins as the incoming head of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
On the bond markets 10-year rates were at 4.241%, while 2-year rates were at 3.872%.