The Australian sharemarket has recorded its best financial year since the pandemic as investors shrugged off the Trump administration’s chaotic trade policies and instability in the Middle East to push local stocks up more than 10 per cent and towards record highs.

Powered largely by big gains in Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and Wesfarmers, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had its best year since 2021, when investors piled back into the market after the COVID-19 slump.