The S&P/ASX200 gained 55.4 points by midday, up 0.61 per cent, to 9,069.9, roughly 45 points from its 9,115.2 intraday record and 25 points short of October's 9,094.7 record close.
The broader All Ordinaries rose 32.3 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 9,314.1.
The heavyweight financials sector buoyed the broader market, after ANZ became the second big four bank in two days to beat interim earnings expectations.
ANZ's $1.94 billion cash profit in the December quarter smashed expectations, a day after CBA posted a record $5.4 billion first-half profit, easing some fears about lofty valuations in the sector and offering a snapshot of lending in the broader economy.
ANZ shares rocketed more than seven per cent higher to a record $40.14 before easing to just below $40 per share.
Westpac and NAB notched more modest gains, while CommBank shares surged a handy 3.3 per cent to $175.22, a three-month high.
But shares in financial services company AMP were banished to seven-month lows, wiping more than a quarter of the company's value, after its bottom-line profit fell 11 per cent to $133 million.
The lift in basic materials came as mega miners BHP and Rio Tinto each traded more than two per cent higher, while other miners, battery minerals producers and rare earths stocks gained similar amounts.
Gold stocks were mixed, but broadly higher as Evolution Mining slipped by 2.2 per cent after resetting its record high on Wednesday on the back of strong earnings and a fat dividend.
Sub-sector giant North Star posted its financials on Thursday, reporting a nearly 20 per cent revenue surge, propelling its shares more than six per cent higher to $29.98.
The strength in local miners came despite gold's underlying spot price easing 0.4 per cent to $US5,062 ($A7,095) an ounce.
Utilities outperformed even the banks and miners and the sector jumped 3.3 per cent, supported by a more than five per cent surge in Origin's share price.
The energy provider upgraded profit guidance despite both earnings and the bottom line slipping lower, now projecting full-year earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation of up to $1.8 billion.
There were plenty of losers on a segment and company level, with IT stocks shedding five per cent in a broad sell-off, while health care stocks tumbled 4.7 per cent and consumer discretionaries fell 1.6 per cent.
The dip in consumer cyclicals came as online furniture website Temple and Webster crashed by more than 25 per cent after its revenues shrank by almost a fifth in the December half.
Light & Wonder, Aristocrat and JB Hi-Fi also weighed on the sector.
The slump in health care stocks came as shrinking biotechnology giant CSL tumbled another 6.5 per cent to eight-year lows around $152.46, after posting financials and flagging the exit of CEO Paul McKenzie earlier in the week.
The Australian dollar was buying 71.35 US cents, up from 71.16 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm.
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