ASX Today Live News & Analysis

Australia's share market has surged to six-week highs, buoyed by Santa rally hopes and Reserve Bank minutes that were less hawkish than expected, which bolstered interest rate sensitive sectors.

The S&P/ASX200 jumped 95.8 points on Tuesday, up 1.1 per cent, to 8,795.7, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 95.5 points, or 1.06 per cent, to 9,096.2.

All 11 local sectors traded higher, led by real estate stocks, financials and consumer discretionaries and, while raw materials only lifted 0.7 per cent, gold, silver and the segment traded at record highs.

"You've got the combination of thin liquidity, you've got the Santa Claus rally, people are on holidays and the RBA minutes just weren't as hawkish as people feared," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.

"So it's given the green light for the market just to rip higher and that's exactly what it's done."

The heavyweight financials sector charged 1.5 per cent into the green, led by a 2.2 per cent surge in Commonwealth Bank shares, which traded above $161 for the first time in six weeks, while its big four competitors notched gains of up to 1.3 per cent.

Insurers were all broadly higher, with QBE up two per cent as it continued its buyback program.

Strong performances in iron ore miners helped lift the materials sector, as gold stocks were mixed despite the precious metal hitting a record peak of $US4,498 ($A6,746) an ounce, the ASX gold sub-industry only lifting 0.1 per cent.

Silver also reset its record, trading just below $US70 ($A105) an ounce, but it wasn't enough to stop ASX-listed explorer Silver Mines tumbling almost 23 per cent after announcing having to redo ecological surveys for its planned Bowdens mine in NSW.

Lithium producers were stronger, with Liontown and Pilbara Minerals up more than two per cent, while copper miners and rare earths stocks made modest improvements.

Real estate was the best performing sector, rocketing to seven-week highs on the back of a major data centre deal for Goodman Group, and RBA minutes that noted the volatility of monthly inflation readings, which took some of the sting out the central bank's recent hawkish pivot.

Despite investors' positive spin on the minutes, interest rates markets have remained largely unchanged, with two major US investment banks leaning towards a 25 basis point hike early in 2026's second half.

Still, the interest rate-sensitive consumer discretionary segment rallied one per cent, tracking with strength in Wesfarmers, and a continued rally for Nick Scali after Monday's guidance upgrade.

The traditionally defensive consumer staples sector was less impressive, edging 0.1 per cent higher with help from decent performances from Endeavour Group and Treasury Wine Estates.

Droneshield rocketed nine per cent to beat out the top-200, a day after promising minimum shareholding rules for senior leaders.

The inner sanctum sold $70 million in stock in November, prompting investors to dump the defence technology company, which had been (and is yet again) one of the year's best performers, up more than 300 per cent since January.

The Australian dollar is buying 66.66 US cents, up from 66.26 US cents on Monday at 5pm, as narrowing bets on incoming US interest rate cuts weighed on the greenback against the major currencies.

ON THE ASX:

The S&P/ASX200 rose 95.8 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 8,795.7

The broader All Ordinaries gained 95.5 points, or 1.06 per cent, to 9,096.2

The NZX 50 added 9.43 points (0.07%) to 13,517.73 while the Nikkei gained 10.48 points (0.02%) at the time of writing, to be closed at 50,412.87

Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):

Ricegrowers Limited