Australian shares round out September with fresh record

It finished the day at 8,269.8, up 57.6 points, or 0.7 per cent from Friday's close, its previous highest-ever close.

In currency, the Australian dollar rose as far as 69.41 US cents, its highest level against its US counterpart since February 2023.

At 4.30pm the Aussie was buying 69.29 US cents, from 68.86 US cents at Friday's ASX close.

The Aussie broached 69 US cents briefly a few times late last week, but otherwise in the past two years it has only traded above that level from mid-January to mid-February of 2023.