The Australian sharemarket has cracked a record high, led by a rally in energy, tech and bank stocks as the oil price climbed amid ongoing trades talks between the US and China in London.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 71.5 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 8587.2 by the close as nine out of 11 sectors climbed, surpassing the record high set at the close on February 14 of 8555.8. The Australian dollar flirted with a fresh six-month high at US65.25¢.

The S&P 500 inched higher at the close as delegates met for more than six hours overnight with further talks due later today. US President Donald Trump said the talks were positive but “not easy”, while US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the discussions were “fruitful” and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent cited a “good meeting”.

That was enough to boost investor sentiment, pushing stocks higher across the board. Energy stocks tracked a higher oil price, with both Woodside Energy and Santos rallying more than 1 per cent. Banks were also well bid, with index heavyweight Commonwealth Bank leading the big lenders higher, rallying 1.2 per cent.

The biggest company on the local sharemarket hit a fresh record of $182.5 on Tuesday before closing at $181.480.

The tech sector also rose by 1.7 per cent, driven by data operator NextDC (up 5.2 per cent), Wisetech (up 2.2 per cent), and Xero (up 1.8 per cent).