If there are any worries about next month's profit reporting season, you wouldn't find any signs of that on the market today with the All Ordinaries (Index:^AORD) (ASX:XAO) index closing at a record high.
The ASX All Ords gained 0.7% to 6,862 points today, or around 9 points above its previous record close on November 1, 2007, while the S&P/ASX 200 (Index:^AXJO) (ASX:XJO) index rallied 0.8% to 6,777 and is within a 50-point striking distance from its record close.
The tech sector is the best performer with the WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) share price and Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) share price jumping more than 2% each.
Sectors contributing to the record high
The big banks also contributed to Wednesday's strong gains. The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price and National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) share price increased by 1.7% each while the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price added 1% and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) improved by 0.8%.
Offshore earners like Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) and Reliance Worldwide Corporation Ltd (ASX: RWC) also found favour with investors as the Aussie dollar fell below US70 cents.
The Aussie may have been pressured by forecasts from Westpac that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will cut interest rates two more time before February next year.
ASX stocks that have lost favour
However, it wasn't all good news. Our iron ore majors went in the opposite direction on worries that the price of the steel making commodity may have peaked and is heading lower.
The Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price took a 2.2% beating to $100.51 while the Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price lost 0.6% each to $8.73 and $41.33, respectively.
UBS believes the iron ore price is heading down to US$80 a tonne by the end of the year as Vale SA reopens its shuttered mines following the tragic dam disaster in Brazil.
The fatal accident and stronger than anticipated Chinese steel production conspired to push the iron ore to well over US$100 per tonne despite slowing global industrial output due to the US-China trade war.
Meanwhile, broker downgrades have sent shares in gold miner Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) and shipbuilder Austal Limited (ASX: ASB) crashing after their spectacular share price run over the past year.
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