It's been an extraordinary day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this Tuesday. It's been a while since we saw the ASX 200 at a new record high. Well, by 2024 standards that is.
The ASX 200's last all-time record was on 17 October. This saw the index climb to a new intra-day high of 8,384.5 points.
Ever since then, the index has treaded water, even dipping as low as 8,063 points at the beginning of this month.
But today, investors have once again reset the index's record high. In mid-afternoon trading, the ASX 200 climbed up past 8,400 points – the first time in history we've seen the index with an '8,4' on front of it. We then blew past 8,410 and 8,420 to get to the ASX 200's latest record high of 8,427.4 points.
At the time of writing, investors have cooled their jets a little, but the index is still up a healthy 1.53% at 8,426.8 points.
Today's moves cap off a fantastic year for ASX shares. The ASX 200 has a year-to-date gain of 10.5%, which stretches to an even more impressive 19.4% over the past 12 months.
Check it out for yourself below:
Adding on the returns from dividends that investors have enjoyed this year, it has undoubtedly been one of the best years for ASX shares in a long time.
What's driving the ASX 200 above a record 8,400 points today?
Well, to kick things off, all the stars seemed to align for a great session on the ASX boards this Tuesday. For one, the American markets kicked off their trading week on a high note in the early hours of this morning. A 0.13% loss for the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) was offset by a 0.39% gain for the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) and a 0.6% rise for the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC).
The American markets often dictate what the ASX might do on any given day, so things were off to a good start this morning.
As we flagged earlier today, commodity prices, ranging from gold to oil and iron ore, have also ticked up over the past 24 hours, supporting many ASX share prices.
However, if investors wish to investigate which shares are driving the ASX 200 to the new heights we've seen today, they need look no further than the usual suspects.
ASX blue chips rack up the gains
The big four ASX bank stocks collectively have more influence on the ASX 200 than any other. After all, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) account for four of the largest six stocks in the ASX 200 Index. Together, they make up almost a quarter of the ASX 200's value by weighting.
Today, we've seen CBA alone rise by 1.7% to a new record high of $155.62 a share.
NAB, ANZ and Westpac haven't been quite as successful, but all three are just a whisker off their own 52-week highs, with NAB also standing out today with a 1.2% rise.
The other two members of the ASX's largest six stocks are also in the green this Tuesday. BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) has lifted 0.51% at present to $40.56 a share, while CSL Ltd (ASX: WDS) has bounced 0.73% higher to $274.44.
Other heavy hitters in the ASX 200, including Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS), Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) and Goodman Group (ASX: GMG), are all up more than 1% at present as well.
So given these simultaneous gains, it's not too surprising to see the ASX 200 itself at new heights this session. Let's see what the rest of the week brings.
