Australian shares are following Wall Street up, as US indices reach new heights from investors eyeing positive corporate earnings results.

The benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.4 per cent to 7,424 points by 12:35pm AEST, while the broader All Ordinaries was up a similar amount to 7,699. 

It came after the ASX 200 posted another record closing high on Monday.

The Australian dollar was relatively stagnant at 73.77 US cents.

BHP record leads index higher

The share market is mainly being boosted by commodity prices.

Copper jumped more than 3 per cent overnight based on both supply concerns and a strong demand outlook, according to commodities analyst Vivek Dhar from the Commonwealth Bank.

"Copper prices rose strongly on supply concerns and demand hopes linked to floods that have devastated the central Chinese province of Henan," he wrote in a note.

"Henan is a major copper production hub and has seen strong growth in copper smelting and further downstream capacity in recent years.

Copper and gold producer Oz Minerals was the biggest gainer on the ASX 200, jumping 8 per cent to $23.80 by 12:21pm AEST.

The company also released its latest production figures for the June quarter, with both gold and copper output at its Prominent Hill mine in South Australia exceeding expectations.

Global mining giant BHP was also driving local indices higher by breaking fresh record highs, rising 3.2 per cent to $53.56, while Rio Tinto (+2.1 per cent) and Fortescue (+2 per cent) also had solid gains as iron ore rose 0.5 per cent to $US202.95 a tonne.

Overall, the ASX 200's basic materials sector, dominated by mining, was up 2.2 per cent.

On oil markets, West Texas oil was up 0.1 per cent to $US72.20 a barrel, while Brent oil increased 0.5 per cent to $US74.50 a barrel.

Gold was down 0.2 per cent to $US1,798 an ounce.

Outside resources, online furniture and homewares retailer Temple and Webster was another very strong performer, surging 9.4 per cent to $12.70 on strong profit figures for financial year 2021.

Revenue was up 85 per cent as customer numbers climbed on lockdown spending, while the company also reported strong revenue growth over the first few weeks of the current financial year, amid the latest Sydney lockdown.

Investors look to tech earnings results

On Wall Street, the benchmark index S&P 500 extended its winning streak to five days and rose 0.2 per cent to a fresh record close of 4,422.32.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also reached new heights and gained 0.2 per cent 35,144.12, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed slightly higher at 14,840.71. 

US tech companies are releasing their earnings reports this week.

Tesla stocks rose 2.2 per cent after the electric car-marker beat Wall Street expectations for second-quarter revenue on the back of record deliveries, despite the impact from a prolonged global shortage of chips and raw materials. 

Elon Musk's Tesla said company revenue rose to $US11.96 billion from $6.04 billion a year earlier, despite supply chains affecting parts of the car industry. 

Analysts had expected revenue of about $US11.3 billion.

Facebook, Google, Amazon and Microsoft will report earnings through the week. 

Second-quarter earnings so far have mostly beaten analysts' expectations.

"As we get into the heart of [the earnings season], we get industrials and more cyclical names, it will be interesting to see not only how much there is in terms of recovery but also is there any impact from some of these issues, meaning inflation, the spike in prices."

Bitcoin climbs 

Bitcoin rose as far as 12.5 per cent to hit $US39,850, its highest since mid-June.

Last week, Mr Musk — a cryptocurrency enthusiast — said the carmarker would likely resume accepting bitcoin once it conducted due diligence on its energy use.

It had suspended such payments in May, contributing to a sharp crypto sell-off.

On European Markets, the German DAX fell 0.3 per cent, while Britain's FTSE and STOXX 600 index finished flat. 

ABC/Reuters