Australian shares rose and briefly matched an all-time high on Monday, tracking a rally on Wall Street as banks and gold stocks climbed. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.4 per cent, or 31.7 points, to 8131.6 – just 18 points away from a record top of 8148.7 set in August. The benchmark added more than 1 per cent last week. Out of the 11 sectors, seven were green. Banks and communications services were in the front seat. Health and energy were the biggest laggards.
1 per cent. Emerald Resources, however, slumped nearly 5 per cent on news of a wall slip at its Cambodian mine. Lithium miner Mineral Resources rallied 1.3 per cent after it released bullish estimates of possible gas resources in its Lockyer gas project in Western Australia’s Perth Basin. Among the blue chips, iron ore giants had a subdued tone. BHP was flat but Rio Tinto fell 0.7 per cent and Fortescue dropped 1.7 per cent.