Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.9% to an all-time high of 7836 points by midday, led by a surge in bank shares. Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) stocks reached a new record high of $121.02, contributing to the overall market uptick.
Other major banks, including National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC), and ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX:ANZ), also achieved new multi-year highs. Virgin Money PLC (ASX:VUK), a dual-listed lender, saw its shares leap by 32% following a $5.7 billion takeover bid from Nationwide.
The technology sector also rose by 1% as enthusiasm for stocks associated with artificial intelligence (AI) drove Wall Street’s S&P 500 and Nasdaq to all-time highs.
Nvidia, a bellwether for AI in the US, soared 4.5% to a record high of $US926.69 per share, reflecting a $US2.3 trillion ($3.5 trillion) market cap.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's comments indicating that policymakers are nearing the point of confidence that price pressures are being managed also influenced the market. This sentiment was mirrored by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, who stated that while she and her colleagues are not yet sufficiently confident to begin monetary easing, they expect a window of opportunity to open soon.