AAP

Oil prices have settled slightly higher after a choppy trading session as the market digested US government data showing that while there were signs a crude glut may be receding, inventories remained large with petrol demand weak.

Gold has fallen to a one-month low as the US dollar firmed, after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged as expected and the market reduced expectations of a surprise win by France's far-right presidential candidate.

Falls by the major banks, miners and and telco company Vocus have triggered the share market's steepest fall in six weeks. 

Western Australia's building regulator is investigating claims of defective firewalls at the new Perth Children's Hospital, as the construction union warns that replacing them could take many months.

Journalists at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have voted to strike for a week, after Fairfax Media announced it would cut about 25 per cent of the jobs at its major Australian newspapers.

Shares in Vocus Communications fell almost 30 per cent following the telecom operator's second profit warning in six months, as management grapple with a raft of problems following its rapid expansion.

The Australian share market has been dragged lower at the open by the heavyweight financial and mining sectors, with telco stocks also down after Vocus Group downgraded its full-year guidance.

The Australian dollar is a touch higher against its US counterpart.

ANZ's weaker-than-expected $3.4 billion half-year cash profit has weighed on the big four banks and pulled the share market slightly lower.

The head of Western Australia's public sector union has defended what is being viewed as a muted response to the biggest slashing of the public service in decades and job losses that might be in the thousands.

The federal government has confirmed it will build Sydney's second airport after the operator of the city's main Kingsford Smith airport said it will not take up an option to develop the project.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has held the cash rate steady, signalling it is less concerned about the growth of household debt and low inflation.

Chinese direct investment in Western Australia was more than 10 times higher last year than it had been in calendar 2015, according to the latest data compiled by KPMG and the University of Sydney.

Retail giant Woolworths has delivered strong comparable food sales for the third quarter in a sign it has wrested customers from arch-rival Coles.

ANZ Banking Group shares have tumbled as much as 3 per cent after the lender fell short of most analysts' expectations with a first-half profit of $3.4 billion.

The Australian share market has slipped in early trade, after softer-than-expected results from ANZ dragged indices lower, despite some gains on Wall Street overnight.

The Australian dollar is sharply higher against its US counterpart and comfortably back above 75 US cents.

Oil has slipped more than one per cent as rising crude output on Libya and the United States counters OPEC-led production cuts aimed at clearing a supply glut.

Gold prices have fallen one per cent to a three-week low, pressured by rising US stocks and an agreement that averted a US government shutdown.

The Australian share market has defied negative overseas leads to close higher as investors look forward to the big four banks' profit reports.

Origin Energy has sold its under-development Darling Downs solar farm in Queensland to gas pipelines operator APA Group, but will buy all the electricity generated by the project until 2030.

The federal government won't guarantee Tasmania and South Australia will be no worse off under potential changes to the way GST revenue is carved up among the states.

The Australian share market has opened slightly higher despite negative leads from overseas markets on Friday.

The Australian dollar is steady against its US counterpart despite volatility.

Oil prices has settled higher on growing hope that OPEC might agree to extend production cuts long enough to reduce a global crude glut, but crude prices still posted a weekly decline.

Gold has closed higher as forecast-beating eurozone inflation data boosted the euro versus the US dollar, while global stock markets retreated from Wednesday's record highs on concerns about global trade.

The Australian share market has eked out a tiny gain to close higher for a sixth straight session, despite a mixed performance in the heavyweight banking and mining sectors.

A new report has rejected changes to tax rules that some advocates say could have reaped billions of dollars in extra revenue from the LNG industry.

Westpac appears to have ruled out funding the controversial Adani mine by limiting lending to basins that are already producing thermal coal.

Jetstar has lashed out at a passenger survey that ranked the Qantas-owned budget carrier one of the worst airlines in the world.

The Australian share market has opened slightly lower, following soft leads from Wall Street's Dow Jones and S&P500 and a fall in oil prices.

The Australian dollar is down against its US counterpart, hitting a four-month low after US president Donald Trump again targeted the imports issue, before retracing some lost ground.