AAP

Shares in oil and gas group AWE have jumped more than 20 per cent following a $430 million takeover bid from a Chinese state-owned energy corporation.

Oroton stores will operate as usual after the 79-year-old Australian luxury handbag retailer collapsed into voluntary administration.

Australian shares have opened sharply lower, weighed down by major falls across the banks after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced a royal commission into misconduct in the nation's financial sector.

The Australian dollar is lower still against a weaker US counterpart which lost gains made after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen spoke of continued US economic expansion and GDP was revised higher.

Gold prices have fallen, as global stocks hover near record highs making the safe-haven asset less attractive, and upbeat US growth data prompt an earlier rise in the US dollar and US Treasury yields.

Oil prices have dipped in a volatile session buffeted by conflicting statements from oil ministers a day ahead of OPEC's meeting in Vienna, as members debate the path for an extension of the group's supply-cut agreement.

Embattled MP Barry Urban has quit the WA Labor Party amid a scandal over the legitimacy of his CV, but still wants to represent the Darling Range community.

Gains by the major banks, miners and energy companies have pushed the share market's benchmark index past 6,000 points for second time this month.

The trouble-plagued and long-delayed Perth Children's Hospital will be ready for its first patients in May, more than two years after its intended opening date.

Australian shares have registered strong gains in early trade as local investors follow the cue from Wall Street, where indices hit fresh highs overnight.

The Australian dollar has fallen against its US counterpart which rebounded overnight following a mix of positive data and a confirmation hearing for US Federal Reserve chair nominee, Jerome Powell.

Oil prices have eased, weighed down by uncertainty over the outcome of an OPEC meeting this week at which an extension to its price-supporting oil output cuts will be discussed.

The share market ended a day of fluctuating fortunes slightly weaker, amid falls for the heavyweight banks, miners and telcos.

BHP Billiton expects to lower costs in its Australian mining operations by a further 10 per cent, and has forecast the division will deliver $US1.6 billion ($A2.2 billion) in productivity gains over the next two years.

Weaker commodity prices have weighed on resources stocks and Telstra is losing ground but the Australian share market is slightly stronger in early trade.

The Australian dollar is hardly changed against its US counterpart which again fell in the offshore session as traders braced for the resumption of deliberations on the US tax plan and the confirmation hearing for Federal Reserve governor Jerome Powell as the central bank's next chair.

Oil prices have fallen one per cent with US crude easing from two-year highs on prospects of higher supply, and uncertainty about Russia's resolve to join in extending output cuts ahead of this week's OPEC meeting.

Gold prices have lifted, buoyed by a weaker US dollar, as investors look ahead to congressional testimony by the nominee to chair the US Federal Reserve and a meeting between US president Donald Trump and Senate Republicans on tax reform.

Shares in Downer EDI have jumped after the engineering group lifted its full-year profit because of larger-than-expected cost savings uncovered following its purchase of Spotless.

Telstra shares have sunk after NBN Co said it would temporarily suspend the National Broadband Network rollout to work on improving the quality of the service.

The Australian share market has closed slightly higher following a late burst in buying that lifted the market out of a midday trough.

Australian shares have started the week ignoring a positive lead from Wall Street and its fresh record highs, with local indexes unsettled and swinging in and out of positive territory at the opening of trade.

Novo cruels Pilbara gold rush

The Australian dollar is unchanged against its US counterpart, which was fallen to a two-month low as investors grow optimistic about the strength of the euro zone's recovery and lose their appetite for the greenback.

US oil prices have hit their highest levels in more than two years on Friday after the continued shutdown of a pipeline running from Canada to the United States was expected to reduce supply into a major storage facility.

Gold prices have dipped as some investors lock in profits at the end of the week, and risk appetite strengthened, but expectations hovered that gold prices could move higher next week.

Australian shares have ended the day flat, following a slight recovery from heavy losses in early morning trade.

Solomon Lew has struck a blow against Myer by securing a first strike against the department store chain's executive remuneration.

Rio Tinto has again extended its joint venture agreement with Chinese state-owned steel company Sinosteel to sell its Pilbara iron ore.

Australian shares are trading lower in early trade, with investors wary after a sharp decline in the Chinese markets on Thursday and with Wall Street closed for a public holiday.

US crude has hit a two-year high in thin trade as the shutdown of a major crude pipeline from Canada and a draw on fuel inventories pointed to a tightening market, despite rising output from US producers.

The Australian dollar is higher against its US counterpart which has sustained further losses as investors trim bets on the outlook for US interest rate rises in 2018.