AAP

Oil prices have edged lower, with futures on track for the worst monthly performance since mid-2016, after Russia signalled that output will remain high and as concern over the global economy fuelled worries about demand for crude.

A rally from the healthcare and materials sectors has pushed the Australian share market to a higher close despite weakness in overseas markets.

The Australian share market has defied predictions of doom and gloom to climb at the start of a new trading week, with the heavyweight mining and banking sectors eking out early gains and healthcare stocks up by nearly three per cent.

Oil prices have risen, supported by expectations that sanctions on Iran would tighten global supplies, but futures posted a weekly drop as a slump in stock markets and concerns about trade wars clouded the fuel demand outlook.

The S&P 500 has ended at its lowest level since early May after technology and internet shares sold off further, capping a volatile week that confirmed a correction for the Nasdaq.

Gold has risen to a more than three-month peak as investors rushed to the safety of bullion as stock markets around the globe plunged, putting the metal on track for its fourth week of gains.

The Australian share market has pulled itself off the canvas and finished slightly higher after a choppy day's trading and despite the US futures markets looking ominous.

An independent inquiry into the partial collapse of a 112-year-old jetty on tourist hotspot Rottnest Island will be completed next month.

NSW and Victoria would not have been subjected to the treatment Western Australia has been under the current GST system for more than 10 years, WA Premier Mark McGowan has declared.

The Australian share market has bounced after faceplanting at a new 12-month low but broad gains at the open, with banks and healthcare the best performers, were quickly pared back.

US stocks have jumped, giving the Nasdaq its biggest daily gain since March, as Microsoft's upbeat earnings spurred a rebound in technology names and investors snapped up oversold shares.

Oil prices rose overnight, following the US stock market higher a day after Wall Street's biggest drop since 2011, and as Saudi Arabia's energy minister signalled major producers may have to intervene in crude markets to support prices.

Gold prices fell on a strong dollar and a rebound of stocks following a multi-day sell-off globally, taking steam out of bullion's momentum.

The Australian share market has tumbled to its lowest level in 12 months, with the indices suffering significant losses across the board after a dive on Wall Street overnight.

A ratings agency has upgraded its outlook for Western Australia's finances, based on higher Commonwealth grants, expected revenue growth and tight spending control.

Shares in AMP tumbled nearly 20 per cent after the under-fire wealth manager announced plans to sell its Australian and New Zealand wealth protection and mature businesses to London-based Resolution Life for $3.3 billion.

A woman who stole a total of more than $1.2 million from two separate small businesses because she "liked having nice things" has been sentenced to six years and two months in a Western Australian prison.

The death of a prisoner who was crushed between a truck and a wall has resulted in Western Australia's Department of Justice being fined $100,000 plus costs.

A fall in Perth house prices over the next 12 months will be followed by modest growth and an overall 5 per cent improvement by 2021, according to a new housing outlook report.

Andrew Forrest-led Fortescue Metals Group has reported an 8.6 per cent fall in first-quarter iron ore shipments as pollution curbs in China reduced demand for its lower-grade ore.

It was a bloodbath for Australian shares at the open as the market plummeted to a new 12-month low, following a dive on Wall Street overnight amid a cocktail of disappointing economic and trade news.

The Australian share market's weak October trend has continued with lower commodity prices weighing on the indices.

Two women and an 11-year-old boy have been injured as a jetty collapsed while they were fishing on Rottnest Island, with the state government set to launch an investigation into the incident.

If it relies on something coming out of the ground, it's likely to be weighing on the Australian share market, with local gold miners one of the few commodity-based positives for a flat ASX at noon.

US stocks have fallen with worries about the earnings outlook adding to recent selling pressure, though major indexes ended well off the day's lows as investors snapped up beaten-down shares late i

Oil prices plunged about five per cent overnight to two-month lows as a sell-off in global equity markets raised worries about demand growth and after Saudi Arabia said it could supply more crude quickly if needed, easing concerns ahead of US sanctions on Iran.

Gold rose by a percentage point overnight to its highest level in over three months as the dollar weakened and global stock markets tumbled, with rising political and economic uncertainties adding to bullion's appeal.

The Australian share market has closed lower again, with energy and materials stocks dragging the ASX back toward last week's six-month low.

Private equity firm BGH Capital and AustralianSuper have returned with another $4.11 billion bid for Healthscope, five months after the private hospitals operator rejected their takeover attempt.

The Australian share market has edged lower at the open, with energy, financial and healthcare stocks dragging after a choppy overnight session on Wall Street.

US stocks have edged down as early support from a rally in China faded, with lower oil prices and disappointing earnings signals from firms including Halliburton and Hasbro helping pull the market lower.

Oil futures changed little after paring earlier losses, despite Saudi Arabia's pledge to raise crude production to a record high, two weeks before US sanctions potentially choke off Iranian supplies.