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.
Oil prices gained more than 1 per cent on Friday, ending a run of weekly declines on signs that Iran sanctions may limit global supply and that a trade war may not curb China's appetite for US crude.
The Australian share market has closed barely higher, falling back from a surge on Friday in the wake of Scott Morrison's selection as the nation's next prime minister.
Australian shares have opened higher, helped by strength in healthcare and resources stocks, but gains could be capped following a weaker finish on Wall Street overnight and domestic political turmoil.
Wall Street's major indexes fell as trade-sensitive stocks were hit by a fresh round of tariffs in the trade dispute between the United States and China.
Oil prices have steadied as the escalating trade war between the United States and China weighed on demand expectations a day after prices jumped on a big draw in US crude inventories.
Australian shares have fallen on Thursday with banking and utilities stocks down, while the turmoil around the future of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has taken its toll on the Aussie dollar.
