The S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.54%, extending its gain over the week to 1.2%. Year-to-date, the benchmark has climbed 15.9% - a podcast by ausbiz

Another day, another record high. That’s eight on the trot.. Let the good times roll! The S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.54%, extending its gain over the week to 1.2%. Year-to-date, the benchmark has climbed 15.9%. All sectors except materials rose during the session, led defensive areas such as utilities, healthcare and consumer staples with gains of between 0.8% to 2%. Consumer discretionary also saw strong demand, jumping 1.2%. Not every retailer had a good day, though. Just ask Baby Bunting shareholders. It slumped 4.5% despite reporting strong revenue and earnings growth. It didn’t offer guidance, however. The market didn’t like that one bit. With gains of around 5%, Star Entertainment Group, Premier Investments and Dower EDI were the top performers, the latter two assisted by upgrades to ratings and price targets from brokers.

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Why John is locked on the insurers

Buy QBE, sell CBA; Nick Morton's reporting season picks of the week

Property names, Afterpay keep on delivering at Evans and Partners

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