Australian share prices are expected to continue to push into record territory this week after hitting new highs on the back of strong commodity prices, dealers said.
They said there is increasing confidence that demand for raw materials and energy will remain strong on the back of China's booming economy and that should be enough to ensure more gains to come in the resources sector.
Gold too has attracted fresh interest given concerns about possibly higher inflation.
The key SP/ASX 200 index closed the week up 80.0 points or 1.8 percent at 4,553., while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 63.5 points to 4,499.4.
"This type of move will give a degree of new optimism for traders, many of whom may have felt that the market had become a little sedated around recent consolidation levels," CMC Markets analyst David Land said.