Gold has risen one per cent, recovering from near six-year lows as news that Turkish fighter jets had shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border sparked a rush to safety among investors, weighing on the US dollar.
Global oil prices have surged higher after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on the Syrian border, sparking concerns about rising tensions in the oil-rich Middle East.
Treasury has cut Australia's potential economic growth forecast, while predicting a return to a budget surplus will take longer than previously forecast.
The Australian share market has closed nearly 1 per cent lower, dragged back by the major banks and continued weakness in the resources sector due to lower commodity prices.
The Australian share market has opened more than half a per cent lower, dragged into the red by continuing weakness in the resources and financial sectors.
Pharmaceutical heavyweights Pfizer and Allergan have unveiled a record-setting $US160 billion ($A222.62 billion) mega-merger as US stocks finished modestly lower.
Oil prices were little changed as traders tried to decipher remarks by Saudi Arabia suggesting a production cutback in response to abundant global supplies.
Gold has fallen one per cent, nearing last week's 2010 low on a robust US dollar and upbeat comments from Federal Reserve officials on a possible US rate rise in December.
Gold have turned lower, ending a two-day bounce up from the lowest level in nearly six years, on the firm US dollar and comments from a Federal Reserve policy maker who said the US central bank should "soon" be ready to raise interest rates.
Business confidence in Western Australia has improved for the first time in 12 months, according to the latest results of a Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA survey.
The state is considering shifting control of industrial relations to the Commonwealth, in an effort to make it easier for small businesses to negotiate on issues such as penalty rates.
Tech companies Square and Match have surged in their first day of trade, but US stocks ended slightly lower following a profit warning from Dow member UnitedHealth Group.
Gold has risen one per cent, rebounding from near six-year lows as indications from the US Federal Reserve that it may move cautiously into the rate hiking cycle weighed on the US dollar and prompted investors to cover short positions.
Treasurer Scott Morrison is willing to consider any new applications to buy Australia's largest private landowner after knocking back the foreign acquisition of S Kidman and Co Ltd on national interest grounds.
