The S&P/ASX200 rose 49.1 points by midday on Tuesday, up 0.56 per cent, to 8,749, as the broader All Ordinaries jumped 48.4 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 9,049.1.
The move tracked with a positive overnight session on Wall Street, and as gold and silver soared to new highs on hopes of lower US interest rates, rising geopolitical concerns and surging ETF buying.
"This year we've seen the strongest annual performance of precious metals in more than four decades: gold is up around 70 per cent, while silver soared more than 140 per cent year-to-date," Moomoo dealing manager Jimmy Tran said.
Spot gold hit a fresh record high of $US4,475 ($A6,719) an ounce for the first time, but ASX-listed miners actually faced some resistance after a strong performance on Monday, as Evolution and Northern Star each lost one per cent.
Capricorn Metals was the top-200's worst performer, sliding 2.9 per cent after entering a binding agreement to buy the prospective Yalgoo project in West Australia.
BHP and Rio Tinto supported the materials sector, which rose 0.2 per cent, as iron ore futures traded just below $US107 a tonne, while critical minerals producers were broadly lower.
Only two of 11 local sectors had slipped into the red by lunchtime, but real estate stocks outshone the broader market, rocketing 2.7 per cent as sector giant Goodman Group launched a $14 billion European data centre partnership with Canada's CPP Investments.
Goodman's shares leapt 8.7 per cent higher in early trade, the company outperforming the rest of the &P/ASX200.
The heavyweight financials sector rose 0.6 per cent, with CBA the best of the big four banks and up one per cent $159.81, while Westpac and ANZ edged 0.5 per cent higher and NAB traded just below flat.
Energy stocks rose 0.4 per cent, after oil prices jumped amid ongoing tensions between the US and Venezuela, the holder of the world's largest proven crude reserves.
Woodside and Santos pushed higher, while coal producers and uranium stocks lost ground.
ASX-listed technology stocks were up 0.7 per cent, tracking with a strong Nasdaq overnight, and as data centre player NextDC rebounded 2.3 per cent after slipping almost 33 per cent since late September.Â
Health care stocks gained 0.5 per cent as Ramsay Health Care entered a sales agreement to buy National Capital Private Hospital from Healthscope receivers for $251 million.
Consumer discretionary stocks rose 0.6 per cent as furniture retailer Nick Scali rallied for a second day after lifting its profit guidance, and up more than 16 per cent since.
Consumer staples fell less than 0.1 per cent, tracking with downticks in Coles and Woolworths, while utilities was the only other sector trading lower by midday.
The Australian dollar is buying 66.57 US cents, up from 66.26 US cents on Monday at 5pm.
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