Dec 4 (Reuters) - Australian shares inched higher on Thursday, driven by heavily weighted miners on the back of strong copper prices, although gains were capped by losses in consumer discretionary and real estate stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO marginally rose 0.1% to 8,602.80 by 2320 GMT. The main index closed 0.2% higher on Wednesday.
Miners .AXMM advanced 0.8% to touch a record high, taking their year-to-date gains to 33.3%.
Copper prices hit an all-time high overnight, propelled by a weaker U.S. dollar and supply woes. Prices also got a boost after Glencore GLEN.L cut its copper production goal for the next year. MET/L
Sector leaders BHP BHP.AX and Rio Tinto RIO.AX surged 1.9% and 1.7%, respectively. BHP hit a one-month high, while Rio scored an all-time peak.
Energy stocks .AXEJ rose 0.7%, in tandem with higher oil prices. Index leaders Woodside Energy WDS.AX and Santos STO.AX gained 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively. O/R
Technology stocks .AXIJ tracked their Wall Street peers higher and were last up 1.4%. Logistics software maker WiseTech Global WTC.AX rose 1.8%. .N
Data released on Wednesday showed that real gross domestic product in the third quarter climbed by 2.1% from the same period a year earlier, the fastest since mid-2023, fuelled by business, government and consumer spending.
Inflation measures in the report also remained high just as the central bank chief warned the economy could be already at its potential growth limit, as markets wagered the next move in interest rates could be up, rather than down. 0#AUDIRPR
Rate-sensitive real estate .AXRE and consumer discretionary .AXDJ stocks declined 1.2% and 0.5%, respectively.
Property giant Goodman Group GMG.AX slipped 2.2%, while electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi JBH.AX retreated 1.5%.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 edged 0.2% lower to 13,553.05.
(Reporting by Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
((Nikita.Jino@thomsonreuters.com;))
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