Aussie shares hover at all-time high as Westpac, Origin impress

Australia’s share market has pipped its intraday record for a fourth-straight session, as worries about lofty bank valuations evaporate for three of the big four.

By noon, the S&P/ASX200 was up 66.4 points, or 0.75 per cent, to a fresh intraday high of 8,894.2, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 66.6 points, or 0.73 per cent, to 9,169.7.

The uptick followed encouraging earnings updates from Westpac and Origin, and a fresh record for the S&P500 overnight as bets on US interest rate cuts in September gather momentum.

Australian unemployment also eased 0.1 per cent to 4.2 per cent, in line with expectations, IG Market Analyst Tony Sycamore said.

“They are also in line with the Reserve Bank’s view of the labour market as outlined ... at Tuesday’s interest rate meeting and validate its cautious approach to rate cuts in 2025,” he said.

The RBA cut the cash interest rate to 3.6 per cent on Tuesday, and rates markets predict another 25 basis point cut in November.

Seven of 11 local sectors were trading lower by midday, with utilities (+2.7 per cent), financials (+1.6 per cent) and consumer staples (+1.0 per cent) leading the gains.

Westpac led a recovery in financials after valuation concerns prompted a post-earnings CBA sell-off on Wednesday.

Westpac was up more than six per cent to $36 per share after posting a $1.9 billion third quarter statutory net profit, up 14 per cent on the first half average.

NAB and ANZ rose more than two per cent each, indicating a potential broader investor rotation from CBA shares, which are down more than six per cent since the bank posted record profits on Wednesday that couldn’t ease concerns about its lofty $283 billion valuation.

Origin also enjoyed a post-earnings rally, up 4.8 per cent to $12.41 after return on capital from its LNG gas business surged by almost a quarter.

Telstra shares fell 2.9 per cent to $4.84, despite a bumper profit net profit of $2.3 billion for the 2025 financial year as the result was broadly in-line with expectations and skewed by a one-off cost booked in the prior period.

The materials sector chalked up a 0.6 per cent gain, with an continued strength in gold prices buoying local miners.

Gold futures are trading at $US3,417 ($A5,205) an ounce.

Large cap miners were mixed, with BHP and Fortescue up 0.7 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively, while Rio Tinto slipped more than two per cent to $115.17, despite iron ore holding its ground above $US102 per tonne.

Bitcoin also hit a fresh record above $US124,470 ($A189,600), the cryptocurrency’s continued rally driven by institutional demand, BTC Markets analyst Rachael Lucas said.

“Public and private companies, along with sovereign entities, now control over 3.64 million BTC, worth roughly $US447 billion, which is more than 17 per cent of the total supply,” she said.

The Australian dollar is buying 65.65 US cents, up from 65.32 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm.