Perth-based company director Peter Hepburn-Brown, who was on the board of three listed mining companies, has passed away following a period of ill-health.
Australian shares have opened slightly higher despite the lack of a clear lead from Wall Street, with the health care and consumer staples sectors leading the way.
Oil prices have slipped, pressured by renewed concerns that a global trade war could dent energy demand, although impending US sanctions on Iran and falling Venezuelan output limited the decline.
The S&P 500 ended flat on Friday while the Dow edged down and the Nasdaq closed higher in light trading as Canada and the US concluded trade talks without resolution ahead of the Labor Day weekend.
The Australian share market has closed lower on the last major day of the profit reporting season, dragged down by the telecommunications sector as well as the miners after a dip in iron ore prices.
Australian shares have opened lower after falls on Wall Street overnight, with the materials sector weighing on the market following a dip in iron ore prices.
Oil prices rose on Thursday to the highest in more than a month, extending gains on growing evidence of disruptions to crude supply from Iran and Venezuela and after a fall in US inventories.
Vodafone Australia and TPG Telecom have agreed to merge into a single $15 billion telecommunications firm in an effort to more effectively challenge telecoms giants Telstra and Optus.
Australian shares have opened higher on the back of gains in healthcare, telecoms and materials shares, and in line with a rise on Wall Street overnight.
US stocks have extended their rally with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hitting record highs for the fourth straight session as technology companies pushed indexes higher and promising trade negotiations stoked investor sentiment.
Oil prices have risen more than one per cent, with Brent at its highest in seven weeks and US crude touching a three-week peak, supported by a drawdown in US crude and petrol stocks and reduced Iranian crude shipments as US sanctions deter buyers.
Rising bank stocks drove a late surge on the ASX on Wednesday after Westpac announced a hike in mortgage rates, adding to earlier gains from easing global trade tensions.
Oil prices have slipped as some investors take profits on recent strong gains, but losses were limited the day after a US-Mexico trade agreement eased worries about tensions between the two countries.
US stock indexes have risen, with the benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq indexes hitting fresh all-time highs, as a trade agreement between the United States and Mexico calmed fears of a global trade war.
The Royal Automobile Club of WA today announced that current group chief executive Terry Agnew will step down in March 2019 after 20 years in the role.
Australian shares have opened higher, helped by gains in financial and resources stocks, as local investors take cues from an overnight rally on Wall Street.
US stocks have posted strong gains, with the benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hitting all-time highs, as news that the United States and Mexico were closing in on a trade deal added to optimism about the economy.
Oil prices have edged up, supported by a strengthening equities market and news that the United States and Mexico agreed to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The benchmark S&P 500 stock index has clinched its longest bull-market run, closing above its previous January high, as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell affirmed the US central bank's current pace of rate hikes.
