The Australian share market has set its third all-time high in the past six days – and one expert says the rally could be just getting started.
At noon AEDT on Monday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 58.2 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 8,452, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 62.6 points, or 0.73 per cent, to 8,695.7.
Earlier the ASX200 had had reached as high as 8,462.1, eclipsing its previous all-time intraday record of 8,446.4 set last Tuesday. The index also set an all-time closing high on Friday, which it is set to break on Monday.
Moomoo market analyst Jessica Amir said the global risk-on rally would probably persist until year-end, provided that economic readouts continue to come in better than expected.
Markets generally gain momentum ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and investors were pleased that US president-elect Trump has named a pro-Wall Street hedge fund executive as treasury secretary, Ms Amir said.
US small-cap stocks also outperformed last week, suggesting that ‘investors are feeling bullish, aggressive, and ready to take on risk,’ Ms Amir added.
For the year the ASX200 has already gained 11.4 per cent so far, with roughly five weeks of trading left.
All of the ASX’s 11 sectors were up at midday except for for financials, which were flat amid losses for all of the big four banks.
ANZ was down 1.0 per cent, Westpac dropped 0.4 per cent, NAB fell 0.5 per cent and CBA was 0.2 per cent lower.
The property sector was the biggest gainer, up 2.1 per cent as Mirvac climbed 4.0 per cent and Westfield owner Scentre Group added 3.5 per cent.
SG Fleet Group soared 20.6 per cent to a six-year high of $3.22 after the car-leasing company said it was engaging with Pacific Equity Partners after receiving a tentative takeover offer from the Sydney-based private equity firm at $3.50 per share.
Novonix climbed 20.3 per cent to 89 cents after the Brisbane-based battery material company said it signed an offtake agreement for synthetic graphite with a Volkswagen subsidiary.
In the heavyweight mining sector, Fortescue was up 2.3 per cent, BHP climbed 0.7 per cent and Rio Tinto added 0.8 per cent.
The Australian dollar was at a two-week high against its weakening US counterpart, buying 65.44 US cents, from 64.89 US cents at Friday’s ASX close.
