AAP

The Abbott government's carbon tax repeal bills have been defeated in the Senate.

The Australian stock market is trading higher ahead of the release of key employment figures.

Australia's unemployment rate has risen back to 6 per cent amid an increase in the number of people looking for work.

Global oil prices have continued their slide from late-June peaks, despite a sharper-than-expected drop in US crude inventories.

US stocks have scored moderate gains following a solid kickoff to earnings season from Alcoa, and Federal Reserve meeting minutes signalling an end to its bond-buying program in October.

Gold prices have extended earlier gains after Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes showed that central bank officials were shifting focus away from raising interest rates as the key strategy for tightening monetary policy.Gold lifts after FOMC minutes

The Australian dollar is higher on greenback weakness after the US Federal Reserve's policy committee said it would not begin raising interest rates for "a considerable time".

Australian stocks fell heavily on a day where the negative mood among US investors overnight carried into local trading, with the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closing 58.4 points, or 1.06 per cent, lower at 5,452.5.

Fewer Australians are spiralling into bankruptcy, with figures showing the lowest level of personal insolvency in almost 10 years.

Most economists would rightly view the official employment figures each month as something of a lottery, but what lies ahead is a fairly safe bet: inadequate jobs growth.

Shares in Northern Star Resources have risen more than 9 per cent after the gold miner issued a better than expected June quarter production report.

Baosteel and Aurizon now control more than 90 per cent of Aquila Resources and will move to compulsorily acquire the rest of its shares.

The Australian stock market is lower following a sell off on Wall Street.

US stocks have fallen sharply with the tech-rich Nasdaq suffering the deepest declines as the second-quarter earnings season kicked off.

The Australian dollar has rallied above 94 US cents as the greenback continues to weaken.

Oil prices have extended their losing streak as concerns ease over supply disruptions from the Middle East, with Libyan exports set to resume and Iraqi unrest not yet affecting exports.

The Australian stock market closed eight points, or 0.145 per cent, lower at 5,510.9 in cautious trading after US and European stocks fell overnight.

UGL chairman Trevor Rowe will retire from the engineering and property services company in October after more than a decade at the helm.

Australian firms have shrugged off the sharp slide in consumer sentiment since the federal budget, with business confidence increasing in the past month.

IG market strategist Stan Shamu said money that was on the sidelines in June as traders were sorting out portfolios for their tax returns appeared to be coming back into the market.

Qantas will cut 167 jobs from its engineering division as part of the embattled airline's ongoing turnaround plan.

Gold prices have slipped lower, after last week's strong US employment data dashed the case for owning the precious metal.

World oil prices have fallen as traders eye the imminent resumption of Libyan crude exports and Iraqi output remains unaffected by ongoing fighting in the country.

The Australian dollar is higher after the greenback lost some of its strength.

US stocks have fallen, retreating from last week's records as analysts point to profit taking and predictions from some experts that the market is due for a pullback.

The Australian stock market was slightly lower with few leads to work with due to a US holiday on Friday and subdued trade on Asian markets.

Shares in online travel business Wotif have jumped 25 per cent after global giant Expedia launched a $700 million takeover bid.

Health workers at Perth's biggest hospitals say they'll walk off the job in a series of rolling stoppages after the state government refused to talk about a new pay offer.

The Australian stock market was higher in early trade following on from Wednesday's strong gains and Wall Street hitting record highs overnight.

The Abbott government's paid parental leave scheme is expensive, unfair and will do nothing to boost numbers of working women, a new report argues.

The Australian dollar has regained some of last week's losses amid light trading volumes as the US celebrated the Independence Day holiday.

Asian markets have rallied after the United States said its economy created more than a quarter of a million jobs in June, sending Wall Street to new records and boosting the US dollar against the yen.