At noon AEDT on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 58.5 points or 0.7 per cent, to 8,358.7, while the broader All Ordinaries had climbed 59.2 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 8,613.3.
A close at this level would eclipse the ASX200's all-time closing high of 8,355.9 set on October 17 although it would need a bigger jump to break its intraday record high of 8,384.5, also on October 17.
Traders were digesting the release of Reserve Bank minutes showing the central bank doesn't expect inflation to return sustainably to target until 2026, as the level of aggregate demand and aggregate supply move into better balance.
Every sector except materials and mining was higher at midday, with tech the biggest gainer, rising 3.2 per cent.
Wisetech Global climbed 2.6 per cent, Xero added 2.9 per cent and Technology One soared 12.3 per cent to an all-time high of $30.06 as the software-as-a-service company beat guidance with a $152.9 million profit, up 18 per cent from a year ago.
Sonic Healthcare rose 5.5 per cent to a three-week high of $27.65 as the global pathology company's chief executive told its annual general meeting that revenue for the first four months of 2024/25 was up 10 per cent higher than same time a year ago.
All of the big four banks were higher, with CBA up 1.2 per cent, Westpac growing 1.0 per cent, NAB adding 0.9 per cent and ANZ expanding 0.4 per cent.
In the heavyweight material sector, most miners were down except for goldminers.
Fortescue dropped 2.0 per cent, Rio Tinto fell 0.9 per cent and BHP dipped 0.3 per cent, while Northern Star and Evolution added 2.9 per cent and 2.7 per cent respectively.
In currency, the Australian dollar was buying 65.06 US cents, from 64.64 US cents at Monday's ASX close.