Day traders' weekend lounge March 8 - 10

Thanks afternoon crew. Have a great weekend, all.

End-of-day summary:

The ASX 200 joined the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite at record levels after US central bank chief Jerome Powell reassured investors that interest rate cuts were likely later this year.

The Australian benchmark broke above 7800 for the first time, climbing 83 points or 1.07% to 7847. The financial sector led the charge as CBA hit an all-time high and ANZ, WBC and NAB pushed to their strongest levels in several years.

The domestic market marked time for the first few sessions of this week before kicking decisively higher yesterday. A strong second half sealed a weekly advance of 101 points or 1.3%.

Wall Street scaled fresh heights overnight after Fed Chair Powell told a Senate committee the central bank was "not far" from having the confidence to cut rates. The S&P 500 glided up 1.03%.