Australian shares rose towards a record high on Monday, as gold stocks jumped on soaring bullion prices, while investors waited for an almost-certain rate cut by the US Federal Reserve later this week.

The S&P/ASX 200 index had climbed 0.5% to 8,143.3 by 1230 GMT and was set for a fifth straight session of gains.

The benchmark was 5.4 points away from its record high of 8,148.7 scaled on Aug. 1. Gold stocks jumped as much as 2.3% to their highest since Nov. 10, 2020, after bullion prices soared on Friday on expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates on Wednesday.

Top gold miner Northern Star Resources climbed 2.5%. Investors globally look forward to the two-day meeting of the US Federal Reserve starting on Sept. 17, where the central bank is widely expected to, after four years, cut rates by at least 25 basis points.

Australian shares hit record high as banks and miners gain

In Australia, the central bank maintains a hawkish stance, one which might see some oscillation after the August jobs data, slated to come later this week, shows how well the labour market is coping with high interest rates.

Among other sectors, rate-sensitive financials rose about 0.8%, with top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia ascending 0.4%.

Miners were up 0.2% after iron ore prices rose on Friday on expectation of new stimulus from China as well as a rise in steel demand.

Mining behemoth BHP Group gained 0.3%.

Technology stocks advanced 1.2%, tracking their Wall Street peers. On Friday, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.72%.

The S&P 500 gained 0.54%, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.65%.

New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was down 0.4% to 12,778.65.