Australia's share market has broken multiple records as earnings season delivers more outsized company-level moves for bigger players, while mining stocks remain hot assets.
The S&P/ASX200 surged 106 points on Wednesday, up 1.17 per cent, to 9,128.3, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 114.7 points, or 1.24 per cent, to 9,359.
The top-200 index hit a fresh intraday peak of 9,130.3, and settled at a close above 9,100 points for the first time.
The All Ordinaries ended the session roughly 56 points short of its highest value and 31 points from October 2025's best-ever close.
Strong performances from basic materials, along with IT stocks and consumer cyclicals as two respective segment giants beat earnings expectations, helped clinch the record-breaking session.
It was an optimistic performance, but based somewhat in reality for miners as commodity prices - particularly industrial commodities - were trading at higher prices than 2026 forecasts, Moomoo market strategist Michael McCarthy said.
"So commodity prices don't have to do anything but stay right where they are to justify higher prices for commodity exposed stocks," Mr McCarthy told AAP.
"But the big story, if we take a step back from the market, is the huge reactions we're seeing in individual stocks - individual stock volatility has exploded."
Interim financial results were behind Wednesday's biggest moves, with Tabcorp, Droneshield, Woolworths and WiseTech each soaring more than 10 per cent, while Domino's was hammered to a similar degree in the opposite direction after its update.
Tabcorp's massive 23.5 per cent charge came after its first-half operating earnings of $217 million smashed forecasts by more than a tenth.
At a sector level, consumer discretionaries and IT stocks clocked gains of more than five per cent each, while raw materials jumped 2.7 per cent.
Iron ore giant BHP hit a fresh record for a third straight session to settle at its highest-ever close of $56.51, while Fortescue sailed 4.7 per cent higher after boosting its half-year profit by 23 per cent to $US1.9 billion ($A2.7 billion).
Gold miners were mostly higher as the precious metal gained one per cent over the session to trade at $US5,198 ($A7,312) an ounce, lifting the All Ordinaries gold sub-sector two per cent.
Critical minerals also caught bids, with particularly solid gains from Liontown (+9.4 per cent) and Lynas Rare Earths (+8.0 per cent).
The financial sector carved out a 0.6 per cent improvement, tracking with modest gains from the big four banks, but insurers were mixed and have remained under selling pressure amid fears around artificial intelligence disruption to the sector.
Energy stocks advanced 0.9 per cent as Woodside shares rallied for a second day after it reported record full-year production despite softer oil prices.
Uranium stocks also pushed higher as risk-on sentiment returned, following a strong lead from US tech stocks overnight, and as enrichment technology company Silex Systems traded more than seven per cent higher on the back of its trading update.
The Australian dollar is buying 71.09 US cents, up from 70.65 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm AEDT, firming after January inflation figures came in hotter than expected and narrowed bets on future interest rate hikes.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 gained 106 points, or 1.17 per cent, to 9,128.3
* The broader All Ordinaries rose 114.7 points, or 1.24 per cent, to 9,359
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar trades for:
* 71.09 US cents, from 70.65 US cents at 5pm AEDT on Tuesday
* 110.63 Japanese yen, from 109.62 Japanese yen
* 60.24 euro cents, from 59.97 euro cents
* 52.57 British pence, from 52.38 British pence
* 118.81 NZ cents, from 118.50 NZ cents
