Australian shares touch record high ahead of RBA's rate decision

Australian shares edged higher and briefly touched a record high on Tuesday, led by banks and discretionary stocks, ahead of a central bank policy meeting later in the day where markets widely expect a quarter-point interest rate cut.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.1% at 8,852.20, as of 0124 GMT, after touching an all-time high of 8,867.60 earlier in the session.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely expected to slash its key cash rate by 25 basis points later in the day, a Reuters poll showed, after a benign inflation print and bleak unemployment data suggested the need for a less restrictive monetary policy.

Investors will be keenly watching the decision, after the RBA left its key borrowing rate unchanged last month in a surprise decision, citing the need for more data to confirm inflation was slowing.

"Given the rise in the unemployment rate, core inflation nearing the midpoint of the RBA's target, and sluggish GDP growth, the case for a rate cut today is significantly stronger than the argument to keep rates on hold," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.

Banks advanced 0.7% to a near one-week high, with all "Big Four" banks rising between 0.7% and 1.7%.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia will report its full-year results on Wednesday before the market opens. Westpac and ANZ will also announce their quarterly results later this week.

Discretionary stocks rose 0.5%, led by a 5% rise in JB Hi-Fi. Star Entertainment jumped 29.2% after reaching a deal with its Hong Kong-based partners to sell its 50% stake in the A$3.6 billion ($2.35 billion) Brisbane resort.

The mining index was largely flat, while gold stocks shed 0.1%. Energy stocks inched lower, while tech stocks rose 0.4%.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.2% to 12,937.55. ($1 = 1.5347 Australian dollars).