Half-time wrap:
The ASX 200 touched 7600 for the first time in 20 months as BHP and Fortescue Metals pushed deeper into record territory and the big four banks gathered momentum.
At the halfway mark the Australian share benchmark was ahead 29 points or 0.38% at 7590 after trading as high as 7600.9. At its peak, the rally carried the index to within 32 points of its all-time high of 7632.8, set in August 2021.
Iron ore's end-of-year bull run helped lift Fortescue 1.93% and BHP 0.88%. The big four banks gained between 0.44% and 0.74%.
Wall Street's record push continued overnight with the Dow advancing 0.3% to a new high and the S&P 500 rising 0.14% to within 0.5% of its own previous peak.
