Half-time wrap:
The ASX 200 has broken above 7800 for the first time, tracking gains on Wall Street after the US central bank indicated rate cuts were "not far" away.
The Australian benchmark traded as high as 7838.4 before paring its advance to 64 points or 0.82% at 7827.
The big four banks led the advance. Commonwealth Bank climbed 1.21% to a new record. NAB rallied 1.72% to its highest since 2015. Westpac's gain of 2.04% brought up a level last seen in late 2019. ANZ advanced towards its 2018 top with a rise of 1.3%.
Wall Street's record push resumed overnight after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told a Senate committee the central bank was "not far" from having the confidence to lower benchmark rates. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closed at all-time highs, adding 1.03% and 1.51%, respectively.
Personal trading: Got into MGU before a trading halt, and fluked a positive announcement. No skill in that, but I've been on the end of plenty of negative announcements, so I'll take the win. Also got half a pip from HHR.
