AAP

Several US stocks fell overnight after a report showed inflation is unexpectedly worsening for Americans.

A late rally has carried the local share market into uncharted territory after Commonwealth Bank, Suncorp, AGL and Computershare all delivered better-than-expected first-half earnings.

The federal government could throw a lifeline to Rex Airlines if a potential buyer isn't prepared to commit to providing value and ongoing regional services.

Wall Street held relatively firm overnight following president Donald Trump's latest tariff escalation and after the Federal Reserve hinted interest rates may not change for a while.

The ASX200 ended the day about where it started, with strong gains for goldminers as the yellow metal breached $US2,900 an ounce for the first time.

US stocks rose overnight as Wall Street took president Donald Trump's latest threat on tariffs in stride.

The ASX200 has fallen after US President Donald Trump said he would impose new levies on steel and aluminium imports.

All three US stock indexes closed lower on Friday after President Donald Trump said he plans to announce reciprocal tariffs on many countries next week, following weak jobs and consumer sentiment data.

The ASX200 has finished Friday down 0.1 per cent to close out the week slightly in the red after starting it with a big plunge.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended higher overnight while the Dow closed lower after a choppy trading session.

The ASX200 rose 1.2 per cent, closing in on a return to all-time record territory.

Wall Street drifted higher overnight as gains for most stocks outweighed drops for Alphabet and some other big-name companies following their latest profit reports.

The local sharemarket has finished higher, bouncing back somewhat from Monday's selloff prompted by Donald Trump's nascent trade war.

Calm returned to Wall Street overnight, and tech stocks led US indexes higher following a strong profit report from Palantir Technologies, a darling benefiting from the artificial-intelligence boom.

The ASX200 had been up by as much as 0.8 per cent in early trading but closed slightly lower as US President Donald Trump's levies begin on China.

The threat of a punishing trade war sent Wall Street on a roller coaster overnight.

Billions of dollars have been wiped from the Australian share market as it plunged to its worst loss in four months and the dollar fell to a near five-year low.

Australia is leaning on its strong ties to the United States and a trade surplus to keep out of Donald Trump's firing line as he imposes tariffs on allies.

Tariff announcement hits stocks; Indexes: Dow down 0.8 per cent, S&P 500 down 0.5 per cent, Nasdaq down 0.3 per cent.

The ASX200 has risen almost half a per cent to finish at its highest-ever level and end January up 4.6 per cent from where it started.

US stocks ended a volatile session higher overnight as investors digested a stack of key earnings reports, with upbeat comments from Tesla helping to offset a disappointing forecast from Microsoft.

The ASX200 has hit a new high in intraday trading and finished just under its all-time closing record amid optimism the RBA will cut rates at its next meeting.

US stocks ended lower overnight, but off their lows of the day, with the Federal Reserve holding interest rates steady as expected.

More than 250 outlets of two leading retail chains will close, costing nearly 1000 jobs, after receivers failed to find a buyer for the stores.

The ASX200 has risen 0.6 per cent to approach its all-time high after cooling inflation increased the chances of an earlier interest rate cut.

US stocks ended higher overnight, with Nvidia and other artificial intelligence-linked technology shares recovering from sharp losses the previous day as investors snapped up bargains.

The ASX200 has finished down 0.1 per cent, with double-digit losses for uranium developers as the rise of cheap Chinese AI prompts a rethink of narratives.

The Nasdaq posted its biggest one-day percentage drop since December 18 on overnight as a low-cost Chinese artificial intelligence model prompted a steep selloff in US chipmakers.

The ASX200 rose 0.4 per cent on Friday to finish up 1.2 per cent for the week as Donald Trump demanded cuts in oil prices and interest rates.

Apprentices will get a hip-pocket boost as the prime minister prepares for an election, but some question whether this will tackle workforce shortages.

The benchmark S&P 500 rose to a record closing high overnight as investors assess a mixed bag of corporate earnings and digest comments from President Donald Trump, including a call for cuts in interest rates and oil prices.

Taxpayers will fork out a $50 million debt lifeline to Rex, with the federal government stepping in for a second bid to sell the embattled airline.