Australian stocks set a new peak on Monday after strong oil and metal prices sent BHP Billiton to a record high, while a healthy economic outlook lifted banks and media group News Corp.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 ended up 34 points, or 0.93 percent, at 3,693.6 after hitting an all-time high of 3,693.6.
Activity was thin with A$1.1 billion ($797 million) worth of shares changing hands, as half of Australia had a public holiday.
Diversified miner BHP Billiton, bolstered by high metals and oil prices, closed at a new record of A$14.75, up 3.3 percent.
Fellow miner Rio Tinto put on 1.4 percent to A$38.90 after hitting A$38.92, its highest level since March 2002. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp rose 2.7 percent to A$11.58 after the Nasdaq finished at a 2-month high on Friday.
The country's big four banks, which make up a fifth of the index, were all higher with National Australia Bank closing at A$27.12, up 0.3 percent, and the Commonwealth Bank at A$30.80, up nearly 1 percent.
As oil hovered around the $50 a barrel mark, Australian oil producers, from Woodside Petroleum down to juniors like Roc Oil and Arc Energy, jumped by 2 to 5 percent.