Australian shares rally towards record peak

The ASX stock market board
The Australian share market is just short of an all-time high, despite a quarter of slowing growth. -AAP Image

The Australian share market has notched its best day in more than a month to finish within striking distance of a record close.

The S&P/ASX200 rallied 66.3 points, or 0.78 per cent, to 8,532.7, as the broader Ordinaries gained 70.2 points, or 0.81 per cent, to 8761.1.

The top-200 is roughly 29 points, or 0.34 per cent short of its 8,615.2 record close reached on February 14.

Nine of 11 local sectors finished higher, lifted by energy, consumer discretionary stocks and financials, as the Commonwealth Bank topped $181 a share for the first time.

The Australian dollar is buying 64.56 US cents, down from 64.63 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm, the currency pair confined to a fairly tight range for more than a month.