What a week it is turning out to be for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and ASX 200 shares. Fresh from minting yesterday's all-time high of 9,130.3 points, investors have decided the new high wasn't good enough.
After closing at 9,128.3 points yesterday afternoon, the index quickly climbed as high as 9,202.9 points soon after market open this morning. That's obviously a new record.
At the time of writing, investors have pulled back a little, but the ASX 200 remains up a comfortable 0.4% at 9,165 points.
This latest rise puts the index up 2.5% over just the past month, up a healthy 5% since the start of 2026, and up 11.3% over the past 12 months.
In yesterday's coverage of that session's all-time high, we looked at the ASX 200 shares that were largely responsible for pushing the index to its new record. It's only fair that we do the same today.
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Which ASX 200 shares are pushing the index to its record high?
Well, at first glance, it seems the market isn't getting any help from the major bank stocks. In stark contrast to yesterday's high, all four of the major banks are going backwards this Thursday. National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) is leading the charge with its 1%-plus decline. But Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) have also both dropped by more than 0.5% at present.
As the big four banks collectively make up about a quarter of the ASX 200's weighting, this is a big deal, and it tells us that other major ASX 200 constituents are making up the difference and more.
We don't have to look too far to find those other major ASX 200 constituents. Mining shares are on fire today. Take the ASX 200's largest single stock, BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP). BHP shares are having another cracker today, currently up a massive 2.8% at $58.10 after hitting their own new record high of $58.29 this morning.
BHP alone accounts for almost 11% of the entire ASX 200 portfolio, so investors largely have the Big Australian to thank for today's latest index record.
Although BHP's fellow miner, Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO), doesn't quite have that level of index sway, its 3.65% surge today thus far wouldn't be hurting either. Yep, Rio has also minted a new high of its own this session, topping out at $169.50 a share this morning.
So while yesterday's new ASX 200 record was a joint effort between the banks and miners, today's is a one-sector show.
