At last a new all-time high for the ASX 200 and yet another new high for the All Ords.
The index surged through the old high within minutes of trading started (it ended a few points shy on Monday) and then went higher to 6851, only to ease in afternoon trading as profit-taking emerged.
The ASX 200 Index rose 19.3 points, or 0.3%, to 6845.1, topping its previous high of 6828.7 set on November 1, 2007, at the beginning of the global financial crisis.
The All Ordinaries extended its own record high, advancing 16.9 points, or 0.2%, to 6928.3.
Now, attention today will be on the Fed meeting in Washington and the announcement at 4 am Sydney time Thursday with the expected rate cut up top.
A rate cut will keep the markets burbling along, no rate cut and there will be another tantrum.
Yesterday saw some interesting moves – Credit Corp reversed some of Monday’s 6% slide with a 4% gain yesterday,
The higher gold price boosted Newcrest shares by 3.1%, Northern Star Resources added 1.6% (see separate story), St Barbara rose 2.3% and Resolute Mining closed up 2%.
The techs rose and then took a bit of a beating. WiseTech Global shares lost 3.85, Afterpay Touch eased 2.1%, Altium dropped 1.9% to $37.20 and Xero slid 0.6% to $64.90.
But the biggest influences were the mega caps (by Australian standards) which have driven much of the gains in the market, especially in recent years.
For example, shares in BHP Group added 0.6% to close at $40.83, Telstra rose 1.3% to $3.95 (and hit $4 at one stage), Westpac shares were up 1% to $29.00, CSL climbed 0.6% to $230.22 and Commonwealth Bank ended the session 0.2% higher at $83.40.
All were small but telling influences on a record-breaking day yesterday.
