The Australian sharemarket notched a new peak on Thursday, after a slew of positive earnings results and the blockbuster debut of Chemist Warehouse boosted risk-on sentiment among traders.

The S&P/ASX 200 rose 28.3 points, or 0.3 per cent to 8563.60 at lunchtime – a new intraday high. Five of 11 sectors were higher, led by gains from materials stocks. The All Ordinaries index rose 0.3 per cent.