US stocks pushed higher despite the prospect of a stimulus slowdown and a quicker rise in interest rates, as other data showed that first-time claims for jobless benefits continued to fall last week.
Larger rival Bitcoin also gained in its wake with the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency rising 3.7% to $36,977 in quiet trading with London and US markets shut for holidays.
Bitcoin has been less volatile in recent days but is down by more than 35% this month, weighed by growing regulatory pressures on the sector.
Wealth manager AMP was a bright spot on the index, rising nearly 5.5% to the top of ASX200, after it named deputy chief of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Alexis George as its new group chief executive officer.
There's such a tug of war right now between the longer-term momentum_and the shorter-term term phenomenon of maybe a dollar short squeeze.
The dollar index against a basket of currencies is up 0.50% this month after falling more than 6% last year. It was last down 0.22% on the day at 90.46.
