The S&P/ASX200 rose 51.6 points by midday, up 0.56 per cent, to 9,179.7, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 56.7 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 9,415.7.
The top-200 traded above 9,200 for the first time early in the session, shrugging off Wednesday's hotter-than-expected inflation numbers and taking a strong lead from Wall Street, after chipmaker NVidia posted stellar results overnight.
Local IT stocks led seven of 11 sectors higher by midday, up 4.3 per cent in a broad segment rally, as recently battered health care stocks also rebounded 1.9 per cent, with help from strong interim results from Sigma Healthcare and Ramsay Health Care.
The basic materials sector was still doing some heavy lifting, up 1.3 per cent and soaring to new heights as BHP's record-breaking run continued as it traded above $58 for the first time.
"Stronger metals prices may support mining stocks, while improving global sentiment could help maintain momentum after recent market strength," Moomoo dealing manager Chris Strazzeri said.
Gold miners ran into profit-taking after rallying in recent days, as the precious metal eased to $US5,190 ($A7,283) an ounce.
BlueScope Steel shares tumbled three per cent to $27.52, after the steelmaker knocked back an increased $14.2 billion takeover proposal from the Stokes family-controlled SGH and Steel Dynamics of the US.
Critical minerals producers were broadly higher after Nvidia's stellar results reinforced the strength of the artificial intelligence narrative and chip demand.
The heavyweight financials sector edged 0.2 per cent higher, as Westpac and CBA traded flat while ANZ gained 0.7 per cent and NAB crept lower.
Shares in financial services firm Perpetual surged 6.5 per cent after its underlying profit after tax swelled by 12 per cent in the first half to $112.7 million.
Industrials, the bourse's third most valuable sector, slipped 0.6 per cent into the red as Qantas swung wildly following its first-half earnings release.
Qantas shares initially opened more than four per cent higher at $11.09 as the airline posted an underlying pre-tax profit of $1.5 billion, but ended up more than five per cent down to $10.08 as the market mulled the post-tax figures and narrowing margins.
Supercheap Auto owner Super Retail shares jumped almost eight per cent as sales grew 4.2 per cent to 2.2 billion in the six months to December.
In company news, Droneshield soared almost nine per cent to $3.69 after announcing a $21.7 million new contract.
The Australian dollar was buying 71.28 US cents, up slightly from 71.25 US cents and holding onto gains that followed January's inflation uptick, which narrowed bets on incoming interest rate hikes.
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