AAP

Crude futures pulled back, giving up gains from the previous session as trade concerns weighed on the market and fueled concerns about demand.

The Australian share market has closed slightly lower, dragged down by losses for the banks and the materials sector.

Oil prices have strengthened, with US crude gaining nearly 2 per cent after traders saw an industry report suggesting domestic crude stockpiles would soon decline again.

Technology stocks have pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq higher, driven by Apple shares as the iPhone maker became the first publicly traded US company worth a trillion dollars.

The Australian share market has closed lower, dragged down by the materials sector following Rio Tinto's first-half earnings miss and further concerns over the trade war between the US and China.

Australian shares are slightly negative in early trade following falls on Wall Street's main indexes overnight and a decline in the shares of mining giant Rio Tinto following its half-year results.

Oil prices fell about 2 per cent as a surprise increase in US crude stockpiles fed concerns about global oversupply, while investors worried that trade tensions could hit energy demand.

The S&P 500 and Dow have slipped as gains in Apple shares were offset by a drop in energy and industrial companies with the US Federal Reserve remaining on course for an expected interest rate hike in September.

The Australian share market has closed slightly lower as falls in banking and energy stocks offset gains in miners BHP and Rio Tinto, industrials and healthcare companies.

US stocks have risen as technology stocks rebounded and a report said the United States and China were trying to restart negotiations to defuse a trade war between world's two largest economies.

Australian shares have finished near-flat with solid gains for energy stocks and BHP failing to overcome weakness in industrial and consumer stocks.

Clive Palmer's flagship company, Mineralogy, has lost a court bid to stall paying millions owed to a Singapore-based exploration firm.

Oil prices rose with US crude futures jumping more than two per cent, as traders continued to focus on supply disruptions and a possible hit to crude output from US sanctions on Iran.

A broad sell-off of technology stocks has pushed the three major US stock indexes lower, with the Nasdaq Composite posting its third consecutive loss of more than 1 per cent for the first time in three years just days after hitting a record high.

Australian shares have finished lower, with investor caution and a weak Wall Street lead robbing the local market of momentum on Monday.

Telstra has hired former SBS boss Michael Ebeid to look after its corporate and government customers, as part of a wider senior executive overhaul announced on Monday.

UPDATED: The massive block of land that once housed the derelict half-built mansion dubbed the "Taj on Swan" in Peppermint Grove has failed to sell at auction, but an offer was accepted on Friday 3 August.

Wall Street's major indexes have closed lower as weak earnings reports from major technology companies led to a big drop for the sector.

The Australian share market has closed stronger, with gains almost across the board and miners buoyed by BHP's deal to sell its troublesome US shale oil assets.

BHP shareholders are set for a windfall after the global miner agreed to sell its onshore US oil and gas assets for $US10.8 billion ($A14.6 billion).

The Nasdaq Composite fell on Thursday as Facebook led a selloff in technology stocks, but the Dow gained as fears of a transatlantic trade war eased after the European Union and the United States agreed to negotiate on tariffs.

The Australian share market has closed flat on Thursday, despite gains for local energy and gold stocks and a positive overnight lead from Wall Street.

Newcrest Mining's fourth-quarter gold output has risen 15 per cent as a timely uptick in production at its flagship Cadia mine enabled it to meet production targets.

Fortescue Metals Group has reported record quarterly iron ore shipments.

Australia's biggest investment bank, Macquarie Group, has its first female CEO.

Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media have announced a surprise move to combine into a single $4 billion media giant they say will reach more than half of Australia through television, online, print and radio.

Gold has ticked higher, but was still hovering near one-year lows as the dollar slipped, while a lack of clarity over where a trade dispute between the United States and Europe is heading kept markets mostly rangebound.

The S&P 500 has opened flat as gains in technology shares offset weak earnings from Boeing, General Motors and AT&T, while investors eyed a meeting between President Donald Trump and the head of the European Commission on trade.

Oil prices have risen for the second consecutive day after US government data showed domestic crude inventories fell to their lowest levels since February 2015, easing worries about oversupply that have weighed on markets in recent weeks.

The Australian share market has closed lower, hurt by banks, health care and consumer-exposed stocks, including Woolworths and Wesfarmers.

Perth inflation has hit its highest level since 2015, with prices rising 1.1 per cent in the year to June, while national data has again come in below expectations, signalling a likely continuation of loose monetary policy.

Oil prices have risen as the market shifts focus to the possibility of increased Chinese demand, drawing attention away from oversupply worries and trade tensions between China and the United States.