Shares near all-time high as Australian dollar climbs

The local sharemarket is up again, nearing an all-time high ahead of its final two trading days of 2023. Mining stocks buoyed the ASX on Thursday on the back of rising iron ore prices and gains on Wall Street. The S&P/ASX 200 lifted 33.3 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 7594.5 at 12.25pm, led by mining (up 0.9 per cent) and consumer discretionary (up 0.6 per cent) stocks. That is about 0.4 per cent away from the index’s peak set in August 2021. Some expect the S&P 500 to end the year at 4900 points, which is an upside of about 9 per cent from current levels. Credit: Michael Nagle Meridian Energy led the large-cap advancers, after its…