ASX hits record closing high

ASX 200 hits a record high in light volume on gains from Telstra and CSL.

Gains were driven by Telstra - after broker upgrades - and a new CSL record high of $284.97 after Goldman Sachs tipped it to reach $300 a share.

The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2 per cent, or 13 points, to a new daily closing high of 6864 after hitting a record high of 6879.5 intra-day, driven by strong gains in Telstra - after broker upgrades - and a new CSL record high of $284.97 after Goldman Sachs tipped it to reach $300 a share.

Westpac dropped another 0.44 per cent to close the day at $24.70 a share. The All Ordinaries index was up 0.22 per cent to close at 6965.6. Trading volumes were light before the US holiday for Thanksgiving.

By the close of the afternoon session, the Australian dollar was buying US67.65c, weaker by 0.16 per cent.

“It’s been a record year, it’s been a record month, and it’s only expected to get better,” said Bell Direct market analyst Jessica Amir, noting the Australian market historically rises 2.6 per cent from December to January.

So far this year the ASX200 is up 21.6 per cent, and is up 3 per cent in November, with the month on track to the be index’s best since June.

Optimism about a US China-trade deal, record highs being set on Wall Street and speculation that the Reserve Bank may cut the cash rate further - and possibly even embrace the unconventional monetary policy known as quantitative easing - have all pushed sentiment higher.

The telecom sector was by far the biggest gainer on Thursday, rising 2.9 per cent, as Telstra climbed 4.0 per cent to $3.86 to account for over 40 per cent of the day’s gains.

Ms Amir said that Macquarie and Credit Suisse had both upgraded the stock following Telstra’s investor day presentation on Wednesday, with Macquarie setting a bullish $4 price target.

TPG rose 2.8 per cent to $7.04 and Spark New Zealand was up 0.7 per cent to $4.32.

Health care was the second-best performer, with CSL gaining 1.1 per cent to $282.99 for a 10.5 per cent rise on the month.

The big banks were mostly lower, with ANZ down 0.8 per cent to $24.87, Westpac down 0.4 per cent to $24.70, NAB flat at $26.18 and Commonwealth Bank down 0.1 per cent to $81.60.

Macquarie Group rose 0.5 per cent to $138.05.

In the heavyweight mining sector, BHP and Rio Tinto both rose 0.4 per cent, to $38.50 and $97.39, respectively, while South32 climbed 0.4 per cent to $2.68.

Goldminers were lower, with Newcrest falling 0.5 per cent, Saracen down 1.0 per cent and Evolution falling 3.4 per cent after reiterating its guidance from October at its annual general meeting.

EFTPOS provider Smartpay surged 76.9 per cent to 46 cents after agreeing to sell its New Zealand business to Verifone for $NZ70m ($66m), money it will return to shareholders in a distribution of around 20 NZ cents a share.

McGrath gained 3.5 per cent to 30c after the real estate agency reported promising signs it was on a path to better time.

with wires, AAP