Sixty billion dollars worth of corporate deals sent the ASX200 into a frenzy on Monday and pushed the index through 7500 points for the first time ever, despite iron ore prices slipping 7 per cent over the weekend.

With the exception of the mining sector, blue-chip stocks moved higher on news US entrepreneur Jack Dorsey’s tech firm Square was offering $39 billion worth of stock to takeover Afterpay.

Oil Search also announced it intended to accept an improved $21 billion offer from Santos.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose by as much as 1.5 per cent to 7,506.3 points during trade and closed 1.3 per cent, or 98.8 points, higher at 7,491.4. It was a new record high close and the biggest one-day gain since 22 June.

Australian and Chinese manufacturing data coming in slightly lower than expected did not dampen momentum.

Afterpay contributed the most points to Monday’s gain, and was helped by a 2 per cent rise in Commonwealth Bank, 2.4 per cent gain in NAB, 2.1 per cent gain in Westpac, and a 1.8 per cent gain in ANZ.

Zip Co gained 9 per cent to $7.24 as the entire buy now, pay later sector rose with Afterpay.

“It’s a big move today for our market, and particularly in the buy now, pay later space,″⁣ Shaw and Partners senior investment advisor Adam Dawes said.

Afterpay did get as much as 29.3 per cent higher with over 7 million shares trading hands.

“When you have got your top 20 stock being up 20 per cent, it’s going to move the index, isn’t it,″⁣ Mr Dawes added.

However, he noted Australian-based retail shareholders could struggle with the scrip offer for a US-listed company, even though Square was offering ASX-listed CHESS Depositary Interests (CDIs).

The materials sector was the worst performer with iron ore miners like Fortescue down 2.1 per cent, and scrap metal trader Sims down 2.9 per cent on news China’s demand for steel could be slowing down. Mineral Resources fell 4.4 per cent to a two-week low of $60.27.

BHP gained 0.4 per cent and Rio Tinto fell 0.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners, Jun Bei Liu, said merger activity across all sectors was giving investors confidence that markets would be underpinned by deals.

“Returns are very difficult to come by, given low interest rates,″⁣ she explained.

“It does go against what people say about high valuation in the market, because a lot of these deals can be quite accretive given the growth outlook.”

Monday’s session was also the first trading day of the new month and Ms Liu said the final days of July had a “bit of a risk-off mood” and money taken out last week was flowing back into the market.