The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having another positive session on Thursday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 1.1% to 8,510.1 points.

This has seen a large number of ASX 200 shares charge higher with the market.

Some of these shares have even climbed to new 52-week highs (or better) during today's session. Let's take a look at a selection that are scaling new heights this afternoon:

Codan Ltd (ASX: CDA)

The Codan share price has hit a 52-week high of $17.14. With the gold price at a record high, investors appear to be betting on this metal detection technology company experiencing very strong demand for its industry-leading products.

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)

The NAB share price has climbed to an 18-year high of $40.48 on Thursday. This latest gain means that the big four bank is now up 26% since this time last year.

News Corporation (ASX: NWS)

The News Corporation share price has hit a record high of $56.21. This follows the release of the media giant's second quarter update this morning. News Corp reported a 5% increase in revenue to US$2.24 billion and a 58% jump in net income from continuing operations jumping to US$306 million. This reflects growth across Digital Real Estate, Dow Jones, and Book Publishing, as well as rigorous cost discipline.

Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN)

The Qantas share price has continued its ascent and reached a record high of $9.64. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the airline operator's shares over the past 12 months on the belief that they were seriously undervalued.

TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE)

The TechnologyOne share price has hit a new record high of $32.31. This means that this high-flying enterprise technology company's shares are now up over 100% since this time last year.

Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO)

The Xero share price has reached a new record high of $186.30 on Thursday. This is another high-flying tech stock that has made its shareholders smile over the past 12 months. During this time, the cloud accounting platform provider's shares have delivered a return of over 70%.

A number of ASX 200 gold shares have been hitting 52-week highs today thanks to the booming gold price. This includes Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX: CMM), De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG), Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN), Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR), and Regis Resources Ltd (ASX: RRL).