The local bourse has finished modestly higher in its eighth straight day of gains, equalling its best winning streak of the year amid a wave of optimism about the economic outlook.
The S&P/ASX200 climbed as high as 8,025.2 in the first 10 minutes of trading on Tuesday, its first time above 8,000 since August 2, the first day of a sharp two-day sell-off.
Ultimately the benchmark index closed just below that level at 7,997.7, up 17.3 points, or 0.22 per cent, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 12.8 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 8,207.6.
Tuesday's gains came after a strong lead from Wall Street, where the S&P500 rallied one per cent after three Federal Reserve officials signalled willingness to begin cutting interest rates as early as September.
The situation appears quite different domestically, with Reserve Bank minutes released on Tuesday showing the board earlier this month considered raising interest rates, not cutting them.
Members assessed "the risk of inflation not returning to the target range by late 2025 had risen materially", while financial conditions had eased only modestly, with housing prices and credit growth picking up.
The minutes said the board, which next meets in September, believed "it was unlikely that the cash rate target would be reduced in the short term".
Six of the ASX's 11 sectors finished higher on Tuesday and five closed lower.
The real estate sector was the biggest mover, dropping 1.6 per cent on a big decline by Dexus, the worst performer in the ASX200 on Tuesday.
The office tower owner fell 8.9 per cent to a two-week low of $8.93 after announcing it suffered a net loss of $1.6 billion for 2023/24, primarily driven by unrealised losses on the value of its investment property.
"Markets move in cycles and while conditions are presently challenging, we invest for the long term," chief executive Ross Du Vernet said.
Also falling on the back of earnings announcements was fleet maintenance company Mader Group, which dropped 11.2 per cent, and automotive finance firm Solvar, which fell 7.0 per cent.
But companies rising on the back of earnings releases were more common on Tuesday.
Those posting significant gains included engineering company Monadelphous Group (up 11.6 per cent), business-focused bank Judo Capital Holdings (10.5 per cent), glovemaker Ansell (8.9 per cent), plumbing company Reliance Worldwide (8.9 per cent), baby retailer Baby Bunting (8.9 per cent), mining services contractor Macmahon Holdings (8.6 per cent), lifestyle community developer Ingenia Group (5.7 per cent) and automotive accessory group ARB Corp (5.2 per cent).
"FY24 has been another year of strong financial and operational performance, delivering to our guidance targets and growing our bank," said Judo chief executive Chris Bayliss when announcing the firm's underlying profit before tax was up two per cent to $110.1 million.
ANZ rose 0.6 per cent to $29.93 after releasing a third-quarter update that included a bad debt charge of $45 million, much smaller than consensus expectations.
The other big banks were mixed, with Westpac down 0.3 per cent to $30.32, NAB dipping 0.1 per cent to $36.88 but CBA growing 0.3 per cent to $139.60.
In the heavyweight mining sector, BHP rose 1.3 per cent to $40.25, Fortescue added 1.5 per cent to $17.26 and Rio Tinto climbed 0.6 per cent to $110.47.
The Australian dollar had climbed above 67 US cents for the first time since mid-July, buying 67.29 US cents, from 66.81 US cents at Monday's ASX close.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Tuesday up 17.3 points, or 0.22 per cent, at 7,997.7
* The All Ordinaries gained 12.8 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 8,207.6.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 67.29 US cents, from 66.81 US cents at Monday's ASX close
* 98.92 Japanese yen, from 97.45 Japanese yen
* 60.74 euro cents, from 60.50 euro cents
* 51.77 British pence, from 51.58 pence
* 109.77 NZ cents, from 109.91 NZ cents
