AAP

A late rally from mining and health care stocks has lifted the Australian share market into the black despite energy shares and the big four banks dragging on the index.

Macquarie Group has lifted first-half profit 5.0 per cent to $1.31 billion, helped by increased mortgage lending and its involvement in the NSW government's part privatisation of WestConnex.

Australian shares have fallen at the open despite overnight gains on Wall Street, with energy stocks slipping on falling oil prices, and the financial sector also dragging on the bourse.

US stocks have risen for a third straight session as President Donald Trump said trade talks with China were "moving along nicely," reviving hopes that the two countries can resolve their trade dispute.

Gold rose nearly 2.0 per cent overnight, bouncing off a three-week low touched in the previous session as the dollar fell sharply from recent highs, making the metal cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Oil has fallen nearly 3.0 per cent, with US crude futures hitting lows not seen since April, due to growing concerns that global demand is weakening at a time when output from the world's major oil producers is surging.

On the first day of November the Australian share market drew inspiration from the spring carnival - it jumped, fell behind but sensed the winning post and surged clear to close higher, lifted by banking and mining stocks.

NAB's full-year profit has dropped 14.2 per cent to $5.7 billion after the lender booked more than $1.1 billion in restructuring costs and customer remediation.

BHP shares have jumped more than 4 per cent after the mining giant said it would return $US10.4 billion ($A14.7 billion) to shareholders in the form of an off-market buyback and special dividend.

Australian shares are ahead at the open following overnight gains on Wall Street and a five per cent surge in BHP after the mining giant announced it would return $14.7 billion to shareholders.

Oil prices have fallen and posted the worst monthly performance since mid-2016 on evidence of rising global crude supply, but losses were limited by signs of strong US demand for fuel.

Gold has fallen to a near three-week low as the US dollar scaled a 16-month peak and a stock market rebound stirred renewed appetite for riskier

A late surge from heavyweight banking, mining and energy stocks has pulled the Australian share market higher on a choppy trading day.

Perth's annual inflation rate has hit its highest mark in nearly three years, driven by rising electricity prices in the September quarter, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

ANZ has announced its full-year cash profit has dropped 5 per cent to $6.5 billion, as the bank simplifies operations and prepares for customer remediation in the wake of the royal commission.

Commonwealth Bank will sell its asset management arm to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group for $2.9 billion in a surprise sale, the latest business to be sold by an Australian financial giant amid unprecedented regulatory scrutiny.

Financial and energy stocks got a jump at the open, but miners and healthcare shares were holding the Australian market back during choppy early trade.

Gold prices have fallen as concerns about a further escalation of the US-China trade war boosted the US dollar, eroding bullion's appeal as it tested a key technical support.

Oil prices have dropped more than one per cent on signs of rising supply and concern that global economic growth and demand for fuel will fall victim to the US-China trade war.

The Australian share market has ended more than one per cent higher amid volatile trade that saw shares decline early on fears of escalating trade tensions between the US and China before recovering.

The Australian share market has slumped at the open, with the banks one of the few sectors in the green, after volatile Wall Street trade heralded the resumption of a red October.

US stocks have fallen in a volatile session, with the S&P 500 ending just shy of confirming its second correction of 2018, hurt by fresh worries of an escalation of US-China trade tensions and a sharp drop in big tech and Internet names.

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.

Gold has eased, sliding off a more than three-month peak in the previous session, pressured by a strong dollar and as investors returned to riskier assets following a recent sell-off in global stocks.

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.

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.

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 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.