Australian stocks: Shares close in record territory as big miners shine

MELBOURNE - The Australian sharemarket hit fresh highs yesterday as it continued its end of year run in defiance of a weak overseas lead.

Macquarie Equities private client adviser David Halliday said the market had been buoyed by the same stocks that had been setting the pace all year.

"The resources and material stocks led by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are performing very well and, particularly in the last two or three weeks, we have seen outstanding performances from the banks," he said.

At the close the S&P/ASX200 was up 16.8 points to 4672.2, beating the previous record closing high of 4671.7 set on September 29 this year.

The All Ordinaries was up 15.9 points to 4616.7, just short of the record closing high of 4617.4 also set on September 29.

The big mining stocks continued to shine despite a dip in base metal prices overnight, with Rio Tinto shooting up A$1.69 to a fresh closing high of A$65.50. BHP Billiton closed up 23Ac at A$22.10 after announcing it had given the go ahead for the expansion of the Alumar alumina refinery in Brazil.

Australian Pharmaceutical Industries slipped 11Ac to A$2.95 despite posting a small increase in its interim profit.

Multiplex made up some of the ground it lost on Monday, climbing 2Ac to A$3.18 despite analysts cutting profit forecasts on concerns about its Wembley Stadium project.

Gold stocks continued to glitter. Australia's biggest gold producer Newcrest Mining rose 38Ac to A$21.79.