AAP

High-flying tech companies Netflix and Tesla Motors have stumbled, pulling the Nasdaq 0.6 per cent lower in a muted day for US equities.

Gold prices have extended their declines in aftermarket trading as the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes quashed any hopes the central bank could delay raising interest rates.

The Australian dollar is weaker after US Federal Reserve meeting minutes sounded upbeat and iron ore prices hit a new five-year low.

Oil prices in New York have finished little changed on a mixed US inventory report as Morgan Stanley analysts said they expect OPEC to take action to defend prices.

Jobs are to go at the ABC as the national broadcaster works out how it will operate with $254 million less in government funding over the next four years.

Labor has hijacked Senate question time in a bid to try and kill off controversial financial advice laws.

The share market has fallen for a third straight day, dragged lower by big miners and the banks.

Supermarket giant Woolworths wants the federal government to loosen regulations it says are disadvantaging customers and making it harder for retailers to compete with international rivals.

Australia will seek a free trade agreement with the European Union, as Tony Abbott pledged to take a "strong and effective" plan to the 2015 climate summit in Paris.

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart has lost her bid to keep secret details of her two estranged children's latest court challenge.

The Western Australian government has talked up the positives contained in a report on indigenous disadvantage at a time when its relationship with Aboriginal people is at a new low.

A handful of Telstra payphones have begun transmitting Wi-Fi as part of a plan to blanket public spaces with internet access.

Movie and TV streaming service Netflix will officially launch in Australia and New Zealand in March.

Mining services companies WesTrac and Orica have both announced further restructuring moves, including a reduction in their workforce, with Orica also announcing the sale of its chemicals business to a private equity group.

The Australian stock market has opened flat amid weakness in resources stocks.

The Dow and S&P 500 has closed at fresh records following solid economic data from Germany and the US.

Oil prices have declined on scepticism that an OPEC meeting later this month will result in action to address mounting supplies.

The Australian dollar is firmer as traders move past the Reserve Bank governor's comments on rates staying low and focus on the US Federal Reserve.

Gold prices have closed at their highest level in nearly three weeks, spurred by a drop in the US dollar and tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

The share market closed weaker despite its early gains, with falls posted across all sectors.

Agribusiness Ruralco has nearly doubled its annual profit and hopes much-needed rain will start falling to help farmers in some states struggling with drought.

Former Fraser government minister Reginald ‘Toecutter’ Withers has died in Perth, aged 90.

Mining groups fear standards could slip at Australian mines if Chinese companies are allowed to bring in their own workers.

The uranium industry is hoping to make trial shipments to India next year.

The Reserve Bank of Australia could slash its interest rate to just 1.5 per cent within a year amid weak consumer confidence and rising unemployment.

The Australian stock market has opened higher following a flat lead from the US.

Huge takeovers in the oil and pharmaceutical sectors helped lift the S&P 500 to a record Monday, while the Dow fell shy of a new mark.

Oil prices have dipped on news that Japan slipped back into recession and scepticism that OPEC will reach a deal to cut output.

The Australian dollar is weaker as a free trade deal with China encourages profit taking.

Gold prices have ended lower as a stronger US dollar edges out investors' worries about tensions between Russia and the West.

Mining giant Rio Tinto will hold talks with China's Sinosteel Corporation to extend a joint venture iron ore project in the Pilbara.

Australian farmers and dairy processors will get a better deal than their New Zealand counterparts under a free trade agreement with China, the federal government says.