AAP

The Australian share market has closed higher after Tuesday's release of the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's last board meeting boosted investors' expectations of an interest rate cut in August.

The richest 1 per cent of Australians have become less well off in the past eight years, while net wealth in the bottom 10 per cent of households has continued to grow, according to the Melbourne Institute’s Hilda survey report.

The great Australian dream of owning a home is becoming more of a fantasy, with fewer than half of adults expected to become a home owner in the next few years.

BHP Billiton has fallen slightly short of its revised iron ore production target for the 2016 financial year as it struggles to make up for the suspension of operations at its Samarco joint venture in Brazil and the impact of bad weather in Western Australia.

The Australian share market is broadly flat with gains in financial and consumer focused companies offset by resource groups.

Oil prices have fallen as much one per cent for a second day in a row as a rallying US dollar and a global fuel glut offset forecasts for lower US crude stockpiles that typically would have been bullish for the market.

Gold has cut some earlier gains, as the US dollar hit a four-month high after data showed a surge in US housing starts in June, although weaker equities provided support.

The Australian dollar is still licking its wounds after the Reserve Bank's minutes hinted an August rate cut could be on the horizon.

Construction firm CIMIC Group has booked a net profit for the first six months of its fiscal year of $265.2 million - up 3.1 per cent on the result a year earlier.

The Australian share market has run out of steam to close lower after eight straight sessions of gains.

A task-based risk assessment was not performed before a drill fitter was fatally crushed while working on a rig at Rio Tinto's Channar mine in the Pilbara.

The Reserve Bank says Brexit fears won't hit the global economy too hard, but more sluggish local consumer prices could set the scene for an August rate cut.

After eight straight sessions of gains, the Australian share market has opened flat, with a mixed performance by the big banks and miners.

Rio Tinto has maintained its 2016 guidance for iron ore shipments at 350 million tonnes after lifting June quarter volumes by 6 per cent from a year ago, helped by expanded infrastructure and unwinding of stocks in Western Australia.

Oil prices have settled more than one per cent lower after rising stockpiles of crude and refined fuel intensified fears another major glut was building up.

Gold has fallen as much as one per cent as Wall Street hovered near record highs and investor jitters calmed following a failed coup attempt in Turkey.

Wall Street has closed slightly higher to mint new record highs for the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials, fuelled by Bank of America's better-than-expected profit and a major tech sector acquisition.

The Australian dollar is treading water as traders await the Reserve Bank's monthly board meeting minutes.

Strong gains across the Australian stock market, led by energy, financial and retail companies, helped push the market higher for an eighth consecutive trading day to an 11-month high.

Indian businessman Pankaj Oswal admits he benefited from some payments using Australian fertiliser company money, a court has heard.

A global shipping company has become the first company successfully prosecuted by Australia's corporate regulator under the criminal cartel provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act.

Australian oil and gas producer Oil Search could find itself dragged into a bidding war over InterOil after a counter-bid by global energy giant ExxonMobil.

DroneShield shares have risen nearly 11 per cent in early morning trade after the drone detection company released an investor update.

The Australian share market has opened higher.

Oil prices have extended gains after Turkey's armed forces said they'd taken power in the country, igniting concerns about potential disruptions to shipments along one of the world's busiest shipping routes.

Gold has fallen on improving global risk sentiment and a stronger US dollar after better-than-expected US data.

The Australian dollar has reversed gains made after a short-lived spike sparked by a flurry of strong Chinese economic data.

Expectations of more economic stimulus from central banks and better-than-expected Chinese economic growth figures have helped lift the Australian share market to its highest level in 11 months.

The state government plans to cancel a new environmental review of the controversial Roe 8 highway extension project after winning a legal appeal today, but it remains unclear when contracts for the project will be awarded.

The Australian share market has opened higher.

The Australian dollar has held onto gains driven by official June jobs report.

Financial stocks have led the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials to record highs after JPMorgan's strong quarterly results, while upbeat economic data cemented bets that the current rally on Wall Street can chug along.