It's looking like it will be a very happy end to the trading week indeed for ASX 200 investors this Friday. Yesterday afternoon, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) closed at 8,323 points after suffering a slight 0.04% fall over yesterday's trading. But all of that seems to have been forgotten today.
At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has leapt higher by a confident 1.06% and is currently sitting at 8,411 points. That's after reaching as high as 8,411.8 points earlier today.
Now, that may not be enough to reset the current ASX 200 Index all-time high of 8,446.4 points that we saw back on Tuesday. However, if these gains hold until the end of the trading session, the index might just be lucky enough to mint a fresh new record closing high. That record currently stands at a flat 8,374 points, which was also hit on Tuesday this week.
If the ASX 200's gains hold for the rest of the day, it will be a momentous end to this trading week.
But let's check out where the optimism is coming from on the markets. After all, an index like the ASX 200 rises and falls on the backs of its underlying holdings.
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Which shares are propelling the ASX 200 index higher this Friday?
It will come as no surprise for any long-term ASX investors to reiterate that the ASX 200 index is dominated by bank stocks and mining shares.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) is, of course, the largest company on the index, currently occupying a heavy 10.52% weighting in its lineup. National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) is the ASX's next largest bank, taking out the fourth spot on the index with a weighting of 4.88%.
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) are currently the fifth and sixth largest stocks on the index, respectively, with index weightings of 4.59% and 3.88%.
Healthcare giant CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) and mining titan BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) are also significant players in the ASX 200. These stocks are the second and third-largest holdings in the ASX 200 index right now, with portfolio weightings of 8.17% and 5.33%, respectively.
As it turns out, all six of these ASX 200 shares, which collectively account for 37.37% of the entire ASX 200's weighted portfolio at present, are largely to thank for the ASX 200's spectacular Friday thus far.
CBA shares are currently up a healthy 1.25% at a new record high of $158.20 so far today. The other three major banks are also comfortably in the green, with NAB standing out with its 0.99% rise. Westpac shares are up 0.83%, but have clocked a new 52-week high of $33.90 today.
Banks, BHP and CSL
But it's not just the banks. BHP has been an ASX 200 laggard in 2024 to date. But its shares are currently enjoying a confident 0.9% boost up to $40.17 each.
CSL has also received some love from investors this Friday. The healthcare company has galloped 1.57% higher up to $278.03 a share at the time of writing.
So ASX investors have all of these companies to at least partially thank for this index's significant lift today. Let's see if these gains hold and the ASX 200 indeed manages to reset its record closing high.
