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The Australian share market has edged higher at the open, boosted by the heavyweight materials sector, which lifted on improved copper and gold prices.

Morrison stares down states on GST compo

US stocks treaded water pressured by worries of a eurozone breakup after anti-euro comments from an Italian lawmaker.

Oil prices eased slightly after rallying for three straight sessions, but remained close to four-year highs on worries that global supplies will drop due to Washington's sanctions on Iran.

Gold hit its highest in more than a week overnight, vaulting the $US1,200 per ounce mark, as investors sought refuge in the metal after stock markets sold off due to anti-euro comments by an Italian lawmaker.

The Australian share market has closed lower, dragged down by banking and health care stocks while the Australian dollar has fallen after the Reserve Bank held the cash rate at 1.5 per cent for the 26th straight month.

The Australian share market has opened flat, but rising oil and iron ore prices have lifted the energy and mining sectors, offsetting continued losses for the under-fire financials.

Export bonanza will not last long

US stocks have advanced, led by gains in shares of technology and industrial companies, as a last-minute deal to save NAFTA as a trilateral pact raised hopes for progress in talks with other countries at the start of the fourth quarter.

Oil futures jumped more than $US2 a barrel, rising to levels not seen since November 2014, as US sanctions on Iran loom and a North American trade deal fosters growth.

Gold fell as investors favoured riskier assets after the United States and Canada salvaged NAFTA as a trilateral trade pact with Mexico, while expectations that a strong US economy would lead to higher borrowing costs also influenced sentiment.

The Australian share market has closed lower, dragged down by the financial sector after a correction to banking stocks following the release of the royal commission's interim report on Friday afternoon.

City of Perth commissioners have approved $300,000 in matched funding support to the Historic Heart of Perth revitalisation in the city's east end, one year after a dispute between property developer Adrian Fini and former lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi over the project flared up.

Health care is the only major sector in the green as the Australian share market opened the public holiday lower, with the big banks weighing heavily after calls to extend the banking royal commission.

PM to sandbag seats with GST overhaul

Wall Street ended flat on Friday as gains by Intel, real estate companies and utilities offset a drop in Facebook after the social media network disclosed a fresh security breach.

Gold inched higher but was on track for its longest monthly losing streak since January 1997 as the US dollar firmed against the euro after Italy's budget jitters threatened the European currency.

Oil prices rose more than a percent, with Brent climbing to a four-year high, as US sanctions on Tehran squeezed Iranian crude exports, tightening supply even as other key exporters increased production.

The Australian share market has closed higher after investors' worst fears over the banking royal commission's interim report were unfounded.

A Margaret River winemaker has given up a fight with the Peruvian government, claiming the South American country has bullied him out of the use of the name Pisco.

Real Estate Institute of Western Australia president Hayden Groves has announced that he will be finishing his three-year term on October 4.

The Australian share market has opened higher after Wall Street rallied overnight from its post-rate rise dip.

Westpac cops $235m hit from advice failures

Wall Street has climbed, helped by gains in Apple, Alphabet and Facebook, as well as the US Federal Reserve's confidence in the strength of the economy after it raised rates for the third time this year.

The Australian share market has closed lower, dragged down by mining and banking stocks after commodity prices weakened and the royal commission's interim report looms.

AusCann Group Holdings has today announced two board changes, with managing director Elaine Darby advising of her resignation and pharmaceutical executive Paul MacLeman appointed as executive director.

The Australian share market has recovered its early losses to sit flat following Wall Street's dip in the wake of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate hike.

ABC chair in firing line

Health stocks have helped Wall Street edge higher, although banks have slipped ahead of a widely expected interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve.

Oil prices eased after US data showed a surprise build in domestic crude inventories, but an impending drop in Iranian exports kept Brent futures above $US80 a barrel and on track for a fifth straight quarterly gain.

Gold prices held onto earlier losses as the US dollar trimmed gains after the Federal Reserve raised US interest rates as expected and forecast three more years of economic growth.

Expectations there will be an interest rate rise in the US has weighed on local banking shares, offsetting gains from energy and materials stocks, which is holding the Australian share market flat.