AAP

The S&P 500 and Dow Industrials are higher after President Donald Trump said the United States may not have to impose further tariffs on Chinese goods, but falling shares of Nvidia Corp dragged down the Nasdaq.

Oil ended the week slightly firmer after volatile trading, supported by expectations that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would agree to cut output next month, though prices fell for the sixth straight week amid global oversupply concerns.

Gold rose as much as a percentage point as the dollar fell after US Federal Reserve officials made cautions comments on the outlook for interest rate hikes, while palladium hit a record high driven by worries about short supplies.

The Australian share market has closed marginally lower, with heavyweight healthcare and financial stocks unable to hold on to gains, and ended the week solidly in the red.

A labour hire business owner who fraudulently obtained more than $890,000 through illegal "phoenixing" has been jailed for five years and four months in Western Australia.

The Australian share market has lifted at the open with gains for energy and mining stocks, while the local healthcare sector was also firmly in the black.

il futures have risen, steadying after the week's steep losses as fuel stockpile declines in the United States helped offset concerns about a potentially oversupplied market next year.

Gold hit a near one-week peak as investors sought cover from market turmoil after Britain's long-awaited draft agreement to leave the European Union was thrown into chaos, helping the metal hold its ground against a rising dollar.

A rally in the final hour of trade wiped out heavy afternoon losses on the Australian share market as the ASX narrowly avoided a third straight session in the red.

Western Australia's jobless rate has fallen to 5.7 per cent in October, while the national figure remains at a six-year low.

Australian shares have eked out modest gains at the open despite an overnight sell-off on Wall Street, with healthcare and mining stocks lifting in early trade, though the banks were weighing on the bourse.

Oil has bounced nearly two per cent, recouping some of the previous session's heavy sell-off, on the growing prospect that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied producers would cut output at a meeting next month to prop up the market.

Gold rose one per cent overnight, helped by a slight retreat in the dollar following a rally and as some investors covered their short positions after the metal held the key $US1,200 level.

Wall Street stocks have declined, with the S&P 500 notching a fifth straight day of losses as financial stocks were hit by fears that regulations on the banking industry would tighten once the Democratic Party takes control of the US House of Representatives.

The Australian share market has lost more than one and a half per cent for the second consecutive day with commodity-related stocks suffering heavy losses on plunging oil prices.

The state government has confirmed it will use an estimated $1.7 billion GST windfall to pay down its debts, after the legislation cleared federal parliament today.

Energy stocks are sapping the Australian share market in early trade, with the bourse slipping on plunging oil prices and choppy overnight results on Wall Street.

Gold shook off earlier losses to move back above the key $US1,200-per-ounce level, benefiting from a slight retreat in the dollar after a rally driven by the US interest rate outlook and Brexit talks.

Oil's price slide has accelerated, with US futures suffering their steepest one-day loss in more than three years due to ongoing worries about weakening global demand and oversupply.

Broad-based losses to the local indices dragged the Australian share market down following a sell-off on Wall Street overnight and weakening oil prices.

Broad-based losses to the local indices dragged the Australian share market down following a sell-off on Wall Street overnight and weakening oil prices.

Explosives manufacturer Incitec Pivot has reported a 34.8 per cent fall in profit for the year to September, including a $7 million hit from lost business in Western Australia.

The Australian share market has nosedived at the open, hot on the heels of a major overnight sell-off on Wall Street.

US crude prices turned negative as President Donald Trump said he hoped there would be no oil output reductions, after Saudi Arabia said OPEC was considering cutting supply next year, citing softening demand.

Wall Street's major indexes declined, with the S&P 500 weighed by technology and financial stocks as shares of Apple and Goldman Sachs came under pressure.

Gold slid to its lowest level in a month overnight as the dollar rose to 16-month highs, boosted by the US Federal Reserve's hawkish interest rate policy and political uncertainty in Europe.

After a soft start the Australian share market has finished in the black with the index bolstered by the financial sector.

Healthscope has opened its books to Brookfield Capital Partners after the private equity firm made a $4.5 billion play for the private hospital operator, trumping a rival offer already on the table.

Heavyweight banking and mining shares dragged on the market during early trade, with Australian shares opening the new week lower in the wake of a Wall Street sell-off and concerns over a Chinese economic slowdown.

Oil prices have fallen nearly a percentage point as global supply increased and investors worried demand growth could slow, pressuring US crude to its longest stretch of daily declines since 1984.

Gold has fallen by more than a percentage point to a one-month low as the US dollar strengthened after the Federal Reserve reaffirmed its monetary tightening stance, seen as a negative for non-yielding bullion.

A late rally from banking and health care stocks limited losses to the local indices but falling oil prices ensured the energy sector would drag the Australian share market lower at the close.