At noon AEDT on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 48.6 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 8,542.3.
It had been as high as 8,566.9, eclipsing Thursday's intraday record high of 8,515.7.
The broader All Ordinaries was also at record intraday levels, up 51.2 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 8,797.1.
With a few hours of trading left, the ASX200 was on track for a 1.8 per cent gain for the week, its fourth straight week of gains - and best in six weeks.
Moomoo market strategist Jessica Amir said that the ASX's key rate-sensitive sectors - banks, miners, tech, real estate and industrial - all seemed to be gaining a new lease on life.
"The market is in bullish steam train mode, with the RBA widely expected to cut interest rates next week," Ms Amir said.
It's a good set-up for the start of earnings season next week, when News Corp, REA Group, Beach Energy, Amcor and Nick Scali will all deliver half-year results.
The ASX200 was also on track for a 4.8 per cent gain in January, which would be its best performance since a 7.1 per cent rise in December 2023.
IG market analyst Tony Sycamore cautioned a good start to 2025 did not guarantee one-way traffic.
Back in 2023, the ASX200 rose 6.2 per cent in January but fell eight per cent in the following seven weeks as COVID-19 re-opening euphoria in China fizzled out.
Nine of the ASX's 11 sectors were higher at midday, with telecommunications and utilities lower.
Property was the biggest gainer, up 1.4 per cent, with Goodman Group climbing 1.9 per cent and Lendlease advancing 1.7 per cent.
In the heavyweight mining sector, goldminers were shining as the safe haven asset, with gold changing hands at just under $US2,800 an ounce amid the geopolitical uncertainty flowing out of Washington.
Northern Star had gained 2.6 per cent, Evolution was up 1.3 per cent and Vault Minerals had climbed 6.9 per cent.
Elsewhere in the sector, BHP was up 1.3 per cent while Rio Tinto and Fortescue had both added 0.6 per cent.
In the financial sector, NAB and Westpac were closing in on decade-highs while CBA was approaching its all-time high.
CBA was up 0.3 per cent to $161.02, Westpac had added 0.1 per cent to $33.82 and NAB had gained 0.4 per cent to $40.05, while ANZ had dipped 0.1 per cent to $30.65.
Of course, not every company was doing so well.
Origin Energy had dropped 4.9 per cent after reporting that its December quarter gas production was slightly lower than the prior quarter.
Pointsbet had slipped 5.8 per cent after reporting it made $65 million in gross profit in the first half of 2024/25, up 11 per cent from a year ago.
ResMed had dropped 1.6 per cent to $39.86 despite beating expectations by announcing $US1.3 billion in revenue in the December quarter, up 10 per cent from a year ago.
Investors might have been spooked by gross margins coming in slightly lower than market expectations.
Competitor Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was also down 1.5 per cent.
The Australian dollar had fallen to an 11-day low against its US counterpart, buying 62.12 US cents, from 62.21 US cents at close of business Thursday.