Australia shares hit record high again on boost from banks

Australian shares hit a record high on Thursday, helped by a sustained rally in the heavyweight banking stocks despite concerns over valuation and the impact of high interest rates.

The S&P/ASX 200 index hit an all-time high of 8,477.10 earlier, its third this month and second this week. It ended the day with a 0.5% increase to 8,444.30.

The benchmark has added around 3.5% so far in November, the most in any month since July.


Banking stocks have risen more than 12% since early October despite some concerns over valuations, particularly Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the country's biggest bank.

Consumers' resilience, reflected in the appetite for mortgages to build new homes in the third quarter, is a "testament to bank stocks hitting new record all-time highs," said Jessica Amir, a market analyst at trading platform moomoo.

"Retail investors and institutional traders are partaking in what's going on with banks."

CBA, which accounts for just over 10% of the banking index, added 0.6% on the day and was a dollar-and-a-half shy of its record high. It has jumped more than 11% this month, set to be the best since October 2022.

The mining index inched higher, with BHP Group and Fortescue adding 0.7% and 0.3%, respectively.

The healthcare index rose for a fifth straight session, advancing 1.6% on the day to also help boost the benchmark index. Biotech CSL rose 1.6% as the Aussie dollar remains under pressure.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index lost 1.2% to finish at 13,053.56 points.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare closed 1.5% lower, easing from a drop of as much as 5.3% earlier after it reported a smaller-than-expected first-half net profit.