AAP

Oil prices have slid more than three per cent on Friday as US futures fell below $US60 a barrel for the first time since December on renewed concerns about rising crude supplies.

The Australian dollar has regained some lost ground against the US dollar which itself has preserved its recent gains.

Wesfarmers, Woodside Petroleum and South32 were among Australian shares that closed lower in the wake of another overnight collapse on Wall Street but local losses were relatively contained as many Asian markets tumbled steeply.

Solomon Lew is calling on fellow Myer shareholders to "save the company" with a board spill after shares in the troubled retailer plummeted to a fresh all-time low on the back of its latest profit warning.

Australian shares have again slid in early trade following a fresh plunge on Wall Street overnight, while the Aussie dollar has retreated below the 78 US cents level.

The Australian dollar has slipped to a six-week low against its US counterpart, before regaining some ground, as the US dollar has extended its recent gains.

Oil prices have fallen to their lowest in six weeks after data shows that US crude output had reached record highs and the North Sea's largest crude pipeline reopened following an outage.

Gold prices are flat, slumping early on concern about rising US bond yields and global interest rates, but buyers emerged to lift bullion when it hit a technical support level at about $US1,312 an ounce.

The Australian share market turned around a weak start to the day as bargain hunters bought stocks beaten up in Monday and Tuesday's plunge.

Traditional owners say it is a "sad day" for their people and land after the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal against the approval of a uranium mine in central Western Australia, but conservationists have vowed to continue the fight.

National Australia Bank's cash earnings have slipped 1 per cent as expenses have risen partly due to the lender's increased spend on infrastructure and job cuts.

Australian shares have fallen after US stocks came under late pressure on Wall St during another rollercoaster - though less brutal - session.

The Australian dollar has fallen almost half a US cent against its US counterpart as equity markets continue to bounce back from a sell-off bloodbath that wiped $US4 trillion off the value of shares.

Oil prices have fallen to a one-month low after US data showed a build in inventories and record high crude production, raising worries that the market could be in for more selling, exposing speculators that have bet big on upward momentum in crude.

Gold has slipped as the US dollar has strengthened and global shares have clawed their way off two-month lows, though bullion was underpinned by the view that the dollar's bear run remains in place despite rate hike expectations.

Australian shares have clawed back about $17 billion as markets recover from the impact of a big sell-off on Wall Street.

Rio Tinto's full-year net profit has soared 90 per cent to $US8.76 billion ($A11.1 billion), helped by stronger iron ore and coal prices in 2017.

Australia's major banks are under mounting pressure today, with a draft report from the Productivity Commission raising doubts about competition levels as regulators apply more scrutiny to three of the 'big four'.

Premier Investments is acting on threats to oust the board of Myer with a request for the department store chain's shareholder register in a first step towards holding a vote to install new directors.

CIMIC Group's shares have soared after the construction giant raised its dividend by 13 cents on the back of a 21 per cent lift in full-year profit and forecast a rise in profit in the year ahead.

Australia shares are regaining ground after an overnight turnaround on Wall St stablilised three days of horror losses on global markets.

The Australian dollar has crept a little higher against its US counterpart the day after global equity markets plunged amid widespread sell-offs that wiped out $US4 trillion in value - $66 billion of it off Australian shares.

Oil has fallen for a third day as the US dollar rose to its highest in more than a week in the wake of a sharp sell-off on Wall Street and other stock markets, a global rout that wiped out $US4 trillion ($A5.1 trillion) in value.

Gold prices have fallen one per cent to a 2-1/2-week low, as investors focused on expectations for higher US interest rates, even as US stock markets swung wildly in both directions a day after the Dow and SP 500 indexes tumbled.

The Australian share market has suffered its biggest one-day fall in more than two years, wiping around 3.3 per cent from its value, after Monday night's plunge on Wall Street.

Western Australian small businesses are unhappy with the current state of the economy but are the most optimistic in the nation about its future, a survey has found.

Retail spending was more sluggish than expected in December, following a surprisingly strong lift in November.

Australia's trade balance fell into deficit for only the second time in 2017 in December due to a rise in imports.

Consumer spending remains a concern for the Reserve Bank of Australia, which has again left the cash rate on hold at 1.5 per cent.

The plunge in US stocks has infected Australian shares, with the local bourse opening sharply lower in a "bloodbath" after the Dow industrials hit its biggest one-day decline in history.

US stocks' losses have accelerated in afternoon trading, pushing the S&P 500 down more than 5 per cent from its January 26 record high and the Dow below 25,000 for the first time since January 4.

The Australian dollar has continued to gently slide against a stronger US counterpart despite the latter pausing from its US jobs data and wages growth inspired lift.