The Australian share market has crept higher to close at its highest ever on a day that also saw a $5 billion acquisition in the goldmining industry.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Monday rose 11.7 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 8,447.9, narrowly eclipsing Thursday's record finish.
The broader All Ordinaries rose 5.9 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 8,705.0.
The ASX200 also came within 11 points of its record intraday high, which was also set on Thursday.
The day's big news was Northern Star agreeing to acquire De Grey Mining in an all-scrip transaction at a 37 per cent premium, one that values De Grey at $5 billion and that would create one of the world's 10 biggest goldminers.
"The acquisition of De Grey is strongly aligned with Northern Star's strategy and contributes to our purpose of generating superior returns for shareholders," said Northern Star managing director and chief executive Stuart Tonkin.
De Grey shares soared 29.6 per cent to $1.97, having climbed nearly 40-fold since the then-junior explorer discovered its massive Hemi gold deposit in the Pilbara in late 2019.
Northern Star slumped 5.3 per cent to $16.59, while Gold Road Resources, which owns a 17.3 per cent stake in De Grey, climbed 9.4 per cent to $2.04.
Other goldminers were down as the precious metal slid $US20 to $US2,637 an ounce, with Evolution falling 4.0 per cent and Newmont dropping 3.3 per cent.
Elsewhere in the materials/mining sector, BHP rose 0.4 per cent to $40.72, while Fortescue added 0.3 per cent to $19.04 and Rio Tinto grew 0.9 per cent to $119.28.
In the communications sector, Telstra climbed 0.5 per cent to $3.96 as the mobile operator announced its own M&A transaction, agreeing to acquire youth brand Boost Mobile for an undisclosed sum.
In the financial sector, GQG Partners fell 14.0 per cent to a 10-month low of $2.02 following a downgrade from UBS, citing its major holdings in India-based Adani Group.
UBS estimated that GQG could have lost more than $600 million in funds under management following the US bribery charges against Adani Group and its billionaire founder, Gautam Adani.
The big four banks were mixed, with ANZ rising 0.6 per cent to $31.37 and NAB climbing 0.5 per cent to $39.30, while Westpac and CBA both dipped 0.3 per cent, to $33.27 and $158.19, respectively.
Netwealth slipped 5.0 per cent to $29.25 as the online wealth management platform passed $100 billion in funds under administration.
The Australian dollar was buying 65.01 US cents, from 65.07 US cents at Friday's ASX close.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Monday up 11.7 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 8,447.9
* The broader All Ordinaries gained 5.9 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 8,705
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 65.01 US cents, from 65.15 US cents at Friday's ASX close
* 97.85 Japanese yen, from 97.80 Japanese yen
* 61.76 euro cents, from 61.64 euro cents
* 51.22 British pence, from 51.27 pence
* 110.18 NZ cents, from 110.24 NZ cents.
