The sharemarket climbed again yesterday, closing the week on a high on good news from home and abroad and supported by investors seeking stocks with high dividend yields.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.5 per cent at 4835.2 points, its eighth consecutive daily rise. The index gained 1.3 per cent for the week.
The broader All Ordinaries index was up 25.1 points, or 0.52 per cent, at 4858.9.
On the ASX 24, the March share price index futures contract was 23 points higher at 4804, with 22,953 contracts traded.
IG Markets analyst Stan Shamu said investors had been drawn to high-yielding financial stocks.
"It's all been about the defensive names, particularly the yield plays in the banking sector," Mr Shamu said.
Peter Esho, chief market analyst at City Index, said: "We are in a period of good momentum." There was room for the market to go higher, he said.
Mr Esho said the sharemarket was buoyed by Japan's Nikkei index rising, economic data this week that showed manufacturing activity in China, Australia's biggest trading partner, was growing, and good production reports from mining companies.
Stocks with high dividend yields, such as banks, continued to attract investor interest.
"It was another day of bidding up yield plays and keeping positioning relatively defensive," said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG.
Australia's big four banks rose, with Westpac, CBA, National Australia Bank and ANZ rising between 0.3 per cent and 1.7 per cent.
Fellow yield favourite Telstra climbed 0.4 per cent.
The mining sector dragged on the market, with Newcrest Mining down 1.5 per cent, BHP Billiton 0.2 per cent lower, Rio Tinto down 0.4 per cent and Fortescue Metals dropping 1.5 per cent.
Elsewhere, dual-listed respiratory device maker ResMed jumped 7 per cent after it said second-quarter earnings rose 24 per cent.
Other healthcare stocks also advanced, with CSL climbing 0.6 per cent, Ramsay Health Care closing up 2.2 per cent and Cochlear gaining 1.4 per cent.
In the energy sector, Karoon Gas surged 14 per cent on the news that it had discovered oil off the coast of Brazil.
Women's fashion retailer Specialty Fashion soared 39 per cent after it said it expected first-half net profit to be nearly triple the previous year's.
"It's been a theme for the last few months: the apparel sector is one of the stronger areas of discretionary retail," said Jordan Rogers, an analyst at CBA.
Construction giant Leighton Holdings advanced 92c to $20 after announcing its subsidiary Thiess had won a $175 million maintenance contract with Sydney Water.
Atlas Iron nudged up 0.5 per cent to $1.575 after meeting expectations with its second-quarter production results.
