News

Wall Street stocks have declined, with the S&P 500 notching a fifth straight day of losses as financial stocks were hit by fears that regulations on the banking industry would tighten once the Democratic Party takes control of the US House of Representatives.

Gold rose one per cent overnight, helped by a slight retreat in the dollar following a rally and as some investors covered their short positions after the metal held the key $US1,200 level.

The Australian share market has lost more than one and a half per cent for the second consecutive day with commodity-related stocks suffering heavy losses on plunging oil prices.

Energy stocks are sapping the Australian share market in early trade, with the bourse slipping on plunging oil prices and choppy overnight results on Wall Street.

Morrison's $2b boost to SME loans

Oil's price slide has accelerated, with US futures suffering their steepest one-day loss in more than three years due to ongoing worries about weakening global demand and oversupply.

Gold shook off earlier losses to move back above the key $US1,200-per-ounce level, benefiting from a slight retreat in the dollar after a rally driven by the US interest rate outlook and Brexit talks.

Broad-based losses to the local indices dragged the Australian share market down following a sell-off on Wall Street overnight and weakening oil prices.

Broad-based losses to the local indices dragged the Australian share market down following a sell-off on Wall Street overnight and weakening oil prices.

Australia Institute of Management WA chief executive Gary Martin was the only Western Australian to be named in LinkedIn's inaugural list of top influential opinion makers.

Charity chief executive Arthur Papakotsias has been appointed the new chief executive of Youth Focus, replacing the outgoing Fiona Kalaf.

The Australian share market has nosedived at the open, hot on the heels of a major overnight sell-off on Wall Street.

Frydenberg doubles limit on staff shares

US crude prices turned negative as President Donald Trump said he hoped there would be no oil output reductions, after Saudi Arabia said OPEC was considering cutting supply next year, citing softening demand.

Gold slid to its lowest level in a month overnight as the dollar rose to 16-month highs, boosted by the US Federal Reserve's hawkish interest rate policy and political uncertainty in Europe.

Wall Street's major indexes declined, with the S&P 500 weighed by technology and financial stocks as shares of Apple and Goldman Sachs came under pressure.

After a soft start the Australian share market has finished in the black with the index bolstered by the financial sector.

Kimberley Wild Expeditions, a member of the Indigenous Champions Program, won the tourism industry's highest prize over the weekend, just days after the Tourism Council WA called on the state government to maintain funding for Aboriginal tourism.

Heavyweight banking and mining shares dragged on the market during early trade, with Australian shares opening the new week lower in the wake of a Wall Street sell-off and concerns over a Chinese economic slowdown.

Coalition continues to slide down a slippery poll

Oil prices have fallen nearly a percentage point as global supply increased and investors worried demand growth could slow, pressuring US crude to its longest stretch of daily declines since 1984.

Gold has fallen by more than a percentage point to a one-month low as the US dollar strengthened after the Federal Reserve reaffirmed its monetary tightening stance, seen as a negative for non-yielding bullion.

A late rally from banking and health care stocks limited losses to the local indices but falling oil prices ensured the energy sector would drag the Australian share market lower at the close.

Local banking and health care stocks have jumped at the open, but meaningful early gains for the Australian market have been wiped out by the materials and energy sectors.

$1b lithium jobs boost

Gold has eased to a one-week low on a stronger dollar, after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and was seen on track for further rate hikes.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed slightly lower after a US Federal Reserve statement, and energy stocks were the biggest drag on the S&P as US crude oil prices fell.

Oil prices fell nearly 2.0 per cent overnight as investors focused on swelling global crude supply, which is increasing more quickly than many had expected.

Banking and health care stocks lifted the Australian share market higher, while the energy sector also pushed ahead despite weak oil prices.

Tech platforms have dominated the Innovator of the Year encouragement awards, presented last night, with winners including a video conferencing device for remote communities, groundwater management software, business scheduling software, and a new transmission system for bikes and vehicles.

The Noisy Guts Project and Chemo@home have taken home the respective Emerging Innovation and Growth categories at last nights Innovator of the Year awards, marking a big win for Perth-based healthcare and research.

Tom Young says interest in his udrew interactive building approvals system - the overall winner of the Mitsubishi Western Australia Innovator of the Year award - is growing ahead of its market launch early next year.