The S&P/ASX200 had traded as high as 7,892.2 in the first 10 minutes of trading, its best intraday level since reaching an all-time intraday high of 7,910.5 on April 2.

At midday the benchmark index was up 75 points, or 0.96 per cent, to 7,891.8, less than five points away from its record closing high of 7,896.8 set on March 28.

The broader All Ordinaries was up 74.9 points, or 0.93 per cent, to 8,133.2.

The gains follow a strong lead from Wall Street, where the S&P500 rose 1.0 per cent to close at an all-time high for the 37th time this year following more dovish commentary by Fed chairman Jerome Powell.

In his second day of testimony before the US Congress, Mr Powell did little to alter expectations for US rate cuts in 2024, which most analysts expect will begin in mid-September.

Monthly US inflation data that could alter those expectations will be released late on Wednesday night, Australia time.

Every sector of the bourse was higher at midday as the ASX200 finally broke out of its trading range it had been in since early June.

Tech and property were the biggest gainers, both up 1.5 per cent. Kiwi cloud accounting firm Xero was up 3.1 per cent to a two and a half year high of $141.07 and property developer Mirvac had climbed 4.1 per cent to a two-week high of $1.925.

Just two dozen of the 200 shares in the ASX200 were in the red.

Telix Pharmaceuticals was the biggest gainer, up 11.6 per cent to an all-time high of $19.58 after the US Medicare system made a decision that would improve payments for diagnostic radiopharmaceutical procedures.

Telix’s flagship product is Illuccix, which helps doctors diagnose prostate cancer.

In the heavyweight mining sector, goldminers were putting up the biggest gains as the precious metal changed hands at $US2,376 an ounce.

Newmont had added 3.7 per cent, Northern Star had risen 2.8 per cent and Perseus Mining had climbed 5.0 per cent.

Elsewhere in the sector, BHP and Rio Tinto had both climbed 1.2 per cent, while Fortescue had gained 1.6 per cent.

In the energy sector, uranium plays Deep Yellow and Paladin were up 9.0 and 7.4 per cent, respectively.

In the financial sector, CBA shares had traded above $130 for the first time ever, although at midday they were changing hands at $129.81, still up 1.0 per cent from Wednesday’s close.

Westpac had gained 0.8 per cent, NAB had climbed 1.3 per cent but ANZ had dropped 0.6 per cent.

In the consumer discretionary sector, JB Hi-Fi had gained 1.8 per cent to an all-time high of $65.52 despite the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission initiating court proceedings against its Good Guys subsidiary over allegedly misleading store credit promotions.

The Australian dollar was buying 67.63 US cents, from 67.46 US cents at Wednesday’s ASX close.