AAP

Australia's richest woman, Gina Rinehart, will attempt to persuade the Kidman cattle empire that her offer is still superior, despite being trumped over the weekend by an all-Australian consortium that made a higher bid.

Western Australia has fallen to the bottom of the pile in CommSec's latest ‘State of the States’ report, following the end of the mining construction boom.

Private health insurer Medibank Private no longer has any investments in tobacco companies.

The Australian share market has slipped in early trade as a lack of cues from Wall Street and investor caution weigh on sentiment.

Gold prices are little changed as a strong US dollar limited gains, but the precious metal notched its first weekly rise in four as seasonal demand from Asia kicked in.

The Australian dollar continues to lose ground against the US dollar, which has hit an eight-month high.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been quoted as saying that OPEC and non-OPEC nations are "very close" to an agreement on oil production curbs, Azerbaijan's state news agency Azertag reported.

Santos has narrowed its full-year sales guidance to the top end of its previous target range after total sales volumes leapt 31 per cent in the September quarter, compared with the same period last year.

The share market has fallen slightly due to weakness in the energy sector and a surprise profit warning from private hospitals operator Healthscope.

BHP Billiton chairman Jac Nasser has announced he will step down next year after more than 10 years on the board, on the same day the resources giant rejected charges by Brazilian prosecutors filed against the company and its employees in relation the Samarco dam disaster.

Australian shares are relatively flat in early trade as a lack of cues from Wall Street and profit taking after recent gains weighs on the market.

US stocks ended a choppy session on Thursday with a slight decline as investors digested the latest round of earnings, with a sharp drop in telecoms offset by gains in healthcare.

The Australian dollar is markedly weaker against the US dollar in the wake of disappointing local employment numbers and as its US counterpart climbs on upbeat north American data.

Oil prices have fallen more than two per cent, as a resurgent US dollar encouraged players to take profit on the previous day's rally that sent US crude to 15-month highs.

Gold has eased slightly after three days of gains as the US dollar rose and the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged, maintaining the parameters of its 1.74 trillion euros ($A2.49 trillion) asset buying program.

Gains in the resources sector have offset losses from retail, health and telco stocks to lead the share market modestly higher.

The gap between the rich and the poor in Western Australia has narrowed slightly since the end of the resources boom but the divide is still substantial, new research suggests.

Crown Resorts plans to offload a 49 per cent stake in some of its Australian hotels and retail properties in a stock market float even if it doesn't secure approval to spin-off its international assets.

September's national unemployment rate of 5.6 per cent was as low as it's been since February 2013, but that's about where the good news from the Australian Bureau of Statistics today ends.

Diversified miner South32 has reported a 4 per cent fall in manganese ore production in the first quarter of 2017, but says its on track to achieve its cost guidance for the majority of its production.

Rio Tinto has slightly trimmed the full-year guidance for iron ore shipments from its Pilbara operations by up to 5 million tonnes, after port and rail maintenance affected shipments in the September quarter.

Woodside Petroleum has reported a sharp increase in September quarter sales revenue and production, helped by record volumes at its liquefied natural gas facilities.

Fortescue Metals Group has pushed down costs and debt further after reporting higher iron ore shipments in the September quarter.

The Australian share market is trading steady, as gains in energy and resource companies were offset by falls in banking and healthcare stocks.

The Australian dollar has made further gains against the US dollar, passing the 77-cent barrier.

Gold has risen to a two-week high, gaining for the third straight session and breaching the 200-day moving average amid uncertainty over the timing of a US interest rate increase and ahead of the final US presidential debate.

Oil prices jumped as much as three per cent on Wednesday, with US crude hitting 15-month highs after the government reported a surprisingly large drop in domestic inventories for the sixth week out of seven.

The share market has closed higher in the wake of a positive lead from the US, improved commodity prices and an $11.3 billion merger of gambling giants Tabcorp and Tatts Group.

Adolfo Valderas has taken over as the new chief executive of CIMIC Group, which is on track to deliver a full-year net profit of at least $520 million.

BHP Billiton has reaffirmed its full-year production guidance across all its segments, other than copper, as it sees early signs of a recovery in the commodities markets.

The Australian share market has opened higher on strong leads from Wall Street and ongoing strength in oil prices.

Wall Street has advanced to give the S&P 500 its best day of October on the heels of solid earnings reports from companies such as UnitedHealth and Netflix that put corporate profits on track to snap a four-quarter streak of declines.