The Australian sharemarket’s push towards a record high was stalled this afternoon as losses in banking stocks offset strong gains in the energy and mining sectors. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2% or 13 points to 8088.70 by 2 pm, having briefly touched 8135 earlier in the session, nearing its all-time high of 8148.7 set last month.

The Australian sharemarket traded lower this afternoon, with banking and tech stocks leading losses while lithium producers surged. The S&P/ASX 200 was down 24.8 points, or 0.3%, at 7,987.1 by 2:17pm, with seven of 11 sectors in the red. Despite a tech rebound in the U.S., Commonwealth Bank fell 1.9%, and ANZ, NAB, and Westpac dropped similarly.

The Australian sharemarket rebounded on Tuesday, with the S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.8%, or 62.7 points, to 8050.50, driven by strength in banking and mining stocks. The index is now just shy of its all-time high of 8148.7 set in August.

The Australian sharemarket began the week lower, with the S&P/ASX 200 down 0.7% (53 points) to 7957 by midday, following weaker-than-expected US payroll figures. US non-farm payrolls missed forecasts by 23,000.

A sharp rally in bank stocks drove the Australian sharemarket higher at midday, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index up 0.5% or 40.9 points to 8023.3. Seven of the 11 sectors advanced, led by financials, which rose 1.1%. Among the big four banks, ANZ gained 1.5%, Commonwealth Bank 1.2%, Westpac 1.1%, and NAB 0.9%.

The ASX 200 is up 0.3% at midday, reaching 7976 points, despite a drag from energy giant Woodside. This follows the worst session in over a month on Wednesday, driven by weak US manufacturing data. Technology, real estate, and banking stocks are leading gains, helping offset Woodside’s 6.2% drop to $25.35 after a Citi downgrade to “sell” and lower oil prices, compounded by ex-dividend trading.

The Australian sharemarket slumped 1.8% by midday on Wednesday, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index falling 146.5 points to 7956.7. All 11 sectors were in the red, marking the market’s largest sell-off since August 5. The decline followed a sharp drop in US stocks, where the Dow Jones fell 1.5%, the S&P 500 lost 2.1%, and the Nasdaq dropped 3.3%, driven by a 9% fall in Nvidia shares.

The Australian share market saw a slight dip on Tuesday, with the S&P/ASX 200 index edging down 0.1%, led by declines in consumer-related and mining stocks. Consumer sector giants like Woolworths, Coles, Wesfarmers, and Bega Cheese traded ex-dividend, contributing to the downturn.

In the week’s first session, the Australian sharemarket is trading flat as major banks and miners counterbalance each other, keeping the S&P/ASX 200 largely unchanged at 8092 points. The late rally in the S&P 500 on Friday, driven by resilient U.S. consumer data suggesting a slower pace of rate cuts, has lifted major Australian banks. Commonwealth Bank, NAB, ANZ, and Westpac are all up around 1%.

The Australian sharemarket ended the week on a positive note, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index rising by 0.6% to 8091.9 points, achieving a 0.9% gain over the week.