The bull market in Australian shares is continuing to broaden, with gold, lithium and iron ore miners all helping to push the ASX 200 to a record closing high on Thursday.

While the big banks have already rallied hard, rising resource prices helped the miners to join the action with theASX 200closing up 1% to 7896.9 points beating the previous record close of 7847 points which was set on March 8.

At one stage the market hit an intraday record of 7901.2 points, helped along by optimism about falling interest rates later this year which also propelled shares in the banking, property and retail sectors.Dividends might be helping the market along

The payment of some large dividends by companies including Telstra, BHP and Commonwealth Bank likely also added to investor firepower, with possibly more than usual transferring the cash into their broking accounts to get more of the positive market action.

BHP BHPadded 1.4% to $44.27, Rio Tinto shares RIO were up 0.7% to $121.76

and shares inFortescue Metals FMGrose a hefty 2% to reach $25.70.

The mining rally was solid, with lithium stockPilbara Minerals PLSup 2.1% to $3.83, fellow battery minerals companyLiontown Resources LTRsaw its shares rise 2.6% to $1.17.Gold on the rise

Gold stocks were also buoyed by the rising gold price, with the giantNewmont NEMseeing its shares rally 3.3% to $53.71, leading the sector higher.

Despite Februarys retail sales data coming in slightly weaker than expected at 0.3% month-on-month, most retail shares were also firmer.

Myer MMYRshares added 1.2% to $0.82,Harvey Norman HVNshares were up 2% to $5.15 andWesfarmers WESshares enjoyed a 1.2% rally to $68.40.

There was some stock specific action too, withRamsay Health Care RHCshares adding 0.4% to $56.51 despite negative broking reports about lower tariff increases for its French Hospitals.

Beach Energy BPTshares added an impressive 3.7% to $1.84 after telling investors it would axe 30% of its staff in a restructuring plan.Small cap stock action

The Small Ords index rallied 2.04% for the week to close at 3123.6 points.

ASX 200 vs Small Ords

Small cap companies making headlines this week were:Allup Silica AAPS

Allup Silicas Sparkler project in Western Australia hasproduced high-purity silica exceeding industry standards, making it suitable for use in photovoltaics and high-tech manufacturing, as shown by test work from CDE Global.

The testing indicated a silicon dioxide purity of 99.84% without needing magnetic separation, highlighting the sands value for specialised industries by reducing contaminants like ferric oxide, aluminium oxide, and titanium dioxide.

According to chairman Andrew Haythorpe, these results are a crucial step forward in refining the process circuit design for the Sparkler project, aiming to improve product consistency, reduce costs, and potentially increase the projects estimated mineral reserves.

Silica sand, essential for making specialty glass in photovoltaic cells and mobile screens, benefits from purity in enhancing product quality, as impurities can degrade transparency and efficiency.

Additionally, recent sampling at the Cabbage Spot project has revealed areas with high-purity silica sand, indicating potential for high-tech uses and marking a major advancement in Allup Silicas exploration efforts.Peppermint Innovation PPIL

Peppermint Innovation has securedthree new contracts with MASS-SPECC Co-operative Development Centre and Co-operative Health Management Federationin the Philippines, totalling $53,000, through its subsidiary Peppermint Bizmoto Inc.

The contracts involve developing API services to integrate co-operative member applications with existing systems, aiming to streamline accounting, registration processes, and health insurance operations, enhancing user experience and operational efficiency.

MASS-SPECC and Co-operative Health, which links over 825 health providers and almost 58,000 policy holders, reflect Peppermints expansion and deepening relationships in the sector.

Peppermints managing director Chris Kain highlighted the importance of these contracts in extending Peppermints footprint in digital transformation initiatives within these organisations, offering potential revenue from transactions and additional services through their electronic money issuer wallet.

The partnerships underscore MASS-SPECCs commitment to digitalising and expanding its membership base, with Peppermint benefiting from transaction fees and the provision of ongoing service and maintenance.Many Peaks Minerals MMPK

Many Peaks Minerals has agreed tosecure an 85% interest in a promising exploration area in Côte dIvoire, West Africa, through a series of corporate transactions aimed at acquiring a 100% stake in a joint venture between Turaco Gold TTCG and Predictive Discovery PDI.

This joint venture holds the rights to four mineral permits in an area with recent gold discoveries and over $6.1 million spent on previous explorations across 1,275 sq km.

The acquisition includes the Ferke gold project, featuring the Ouarigue South discovery and the Odienne project, both of which have shown significant gold mineralisation and are supported by systematic geochemical coverage and high-resolution geophysics.

Executive chair Travis Schwertfeger emphasised the exploration success foundation provided by the Ferke and Odienne projects, with multiple targets identified for follow-up, including extension targets, leveraging the teams extensive experience in West African gold discovery and development.

Many Peaks plans to commence with auger drilling and surface geochemistry at these projects to define drill targets further, aiming to expedite exploration based on existing work and capitalise on the regions potential within the Leraba gold trend.Mitre Mining MMMC

Mitre Mining has made a noteworthy discovery at the Cristal target within the Cerro Bayo project in Chile, uncoveringoutcropping silver-gold vein extensions with grades reaching up to 32,849 grams per tonne silver and 298.6g/t gold.

The vein, extending over 700 meters and situated near Mitres processing facility, is considered a high-grade feeder structure that could notably enhance Cerro Bayos global resource, highlighting the regions untapped potential.

Exceptional rock chip and channel sample results have revealed silver equivalent assays as high as 39,481g/t, indicating the presence of bonanza-grade mineralisation.

The discovery is in addition to high-grade historic drill intercepts and follows a resource review that doubled Cerro Bayos estimate to 50.2 million ounces at 311g/t AgEq.

Interim executive director Ray Shorrocks emphasised the discoverys potential to positively impact the projects growth and underscored the high prospectivity and opportunity for rapid resource expansion at Cerro Bayo.McGrath MMEA

Australian property agency McGrath received atakeover proposal from Knight Frank Australia and Bayley Corporation, aiming to position Knight Frank as a leader in Australias real estate sector.

The offer gives McGrath shareholders the choice between $0.60 cash per share, an unlisted scrip option, or a combination, valuing McGrath at approximately $95.5 million.

The valuation represents a premium over McGraths recent trading price, with the cash option serving as the default.

McGrath plans to delist from the ASX if the acquisition proceeds, and founder John McGrath intends to accept the scrip option for his shares, continuing as chief executive officer.

The McGrath board, holding about 48.1% of the company, has recommended shareholders approve the deal, highlighting its benefits to stakeholders and alignment with McGraths growth plans.The week ahead

Despite a lack of trading days due to the extended Easter break, there is plenty for investors to watch out for during the four trading days next week.

Here in Australia the main highlight will be the release of the minutes from the Reserve Banks (RBA) March 18-19 monetary policy meeting while there will also be speeches by RBA Assistant Governors Christopher Kent and Brad Jones to examine for any hints of a change to Governor Michele Bullocks current neutral stance on official interest rates.

Also of interest to traders will be the inflation gauge from the Melbourne Institute which is out on Tuesday along with important home price and job advertisement figures.

All three measures are useful in confirming the likelihood of any interest rate cuts later in the year.

Powell speech

For offshore markets the Chinese purchasing managers indexes will be interesting and in the US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell is speaking on Wednesday.

Another factor to watch will be the enthusiasm or otherwise of local investors to plough in their arriving cash dividends to buy more shares.

An estimated $3.9 billion will be rolling into bank accounts during the week, with most guesses being that around 10% of investors use dividend investment schemes, with the rest making their own minds up as to whether to invest more, pay down debt or spend the dividend cash.

THIS WEEKS TOP STOCKS

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