A rally in mining and real estate stocks spurred the ASX to reset its record high on Friday following a positive session on Wall Street.

The S&P/ASX 200 rose as much as 0.8 per cent in morning trade before falling back. At lunchtime, the index had risen 0.5 per cent, or 41.9 points, to 8535.60, to extend the rally in the previous session. The All Ordinaries Index rose 0.5 per cent. The Australian dollar dwindled to nearly its lowest point this week, at US62.11¢.

Minor gains in US equities masked a broad rally across sectors in Wall Street trading, while technology weighed. The S&P 500 Index rose 0.5 per cent, although the index was knocked down late after US President Donald Trump reiterated possible tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China.

The surge in Australian stocks was led by miners and real estate. Fears around the severity of tariffs imposed on China – which prompted a sharp sell-off in Australian miners last week – abated, causing investors to pour back in. With the ASX materials sector down 9.6 per cent over the past year, low valuations also fuelled the buying spree. BHP gained 1.1 per cent and Rio Tinto 0.7 per cent. Sandfire Resources was the index’s biggest gainer at lunchtime, up 5 per cent.

Real estate stocks rallied on hopes for a February interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia. Index heavyweight Goodman Group jumped 2 per cent.

Origin Energy weighed on the utilities sector, which fell 2.9 per cent. Origin tumbled 5.3 per cent after the company trimmed its production outlook for Australia-Pacific LNG in FY25.

Stocks on the move

Lendlease will sell Capella Capital to Sojitz Corporation in a $235 million deal, in the company’s latest effort to simplify its structure and reduce future funding commitments. The shares jumped 1.8 per cent.

Ramsay Health Care’s Australia chief executive Carmel Monaghan will retire mid-year after 27 years of service. Shares dipped 1.1 per cent.

And Magellan shares extended Thursday’s losses, tumbling more than 9 per cent on Friday after the exit of a veteran infrastructure manager and a major senior staff reshuffle.