The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to around 8,850 in early Thursday deals, extending gains for a fourth consecutive session, boosted by record-hitting commodity-linked stocks. The mining sector led the charge, climbing 1.8% to a fresh all-time high, tracking higher iron ore prices after China’s iron ore imports and steel exports hit record highs. The world’s largest listed miner BHP and iron ore miner Rio Tinto advanced 2.7% and 1.3%, respectively, after announcing plans to jointly develop neighboring Pilbara operations in Western Australia to extract up to 200 million metric tons of iron ore. Additionally, gold stocks rose 0.3% to a record high as bullion surged on safe-haven demand amid geopolitical and economic uncertainty. On the flipside, financials extended losses, down 0.5% with all the four largest banks trading in the red. Local technology stocks also dropped 0.9%, tracking tech-led Wall Street losses overnight. Sector leaders Wisetech, Xero, and Technology One fell 0.7% to 2.4%.