AAP

Business groups are resisting a union push for a shorter working week as ideas to boost Australia's productivity are debated ahead of a roundtable.

The US stock market rallied to records overnight.

The Australian bourse has finished higher, buoyed by banking and discretionary stocks following a widely expected interest rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia.

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order extending a tariff truce with China by another 90 days.

Anthony Albanese says recognising Palestinian statehood will help break the cycle of violence quo in the Middle East and lay down the path for a peace process.

Wall Street's main indexes ended lower as investors anxiously await inflation data this week to assess the outlook for interest rates and eye US-China trade developments.

Australia's materials sector has posted a sixth straight session of gains, helping the local bourse hit a new intraday record.

Australia will join a new global push to recognise the state of Palestine in a landmark diplomatic move, ahead of a crucial United Nations session in September.

US stocks ended higher to close the week.

A five-day rally for miners could not lift the local bourse beyond its record high this week as Australia's pricey banking stocks ran out of buyers.

The Dow and S&P 500 eased overnight in the US.

Australia's share market has edged lower a day after breaking all-time highs, but all's not lost as the bourse posted its second-highest close in history.

A rally for Apple led Wall Street higher overnight.

Australia's share market has topped 8800 points for the first time, as inflows into global miners and continued banking sector strength trounced worries about global growth.

US stocks ended lower overnight as investors weighed the impact of tariffs.

Australia's share market has posted its best-ever close as confidence around company earnings and future interest rate cuts washed out global growth concerns.

All three major US stock indexes ended more than one per cent higher as investors sought bargains after the previous session's selloff and increased bets for a September rate cut in the wake of weaker-than-expected jobs data.

Upticks in iron ore and gold prices have helped the Australian share market steady itself after a shaky start to the week.

US stocks slumped on Friday, and the S&P suffered its biggest daily percentage decline in more than two months.

The local share market has fallen even as Australia dodged being hit by higher tariffs the Trump administration said it was imposing on dozens of its trading partners.

Stocks capped a choppy day of trading on Wall Street with more losses Thursday after an early big tech rally faded and a health care sector pullback led the market lower.

The local share market has slipped from near-record levels as copper prices plunged following a surprise US tariff decision, pressuring miners of the red metal.

The United States will impose 50 per cent tariffs on some copper imports but not copper ores or cathodes, the White House says.

Most U.S. stocks slipped on Wednesday after doubts rose on Wall Street about whether the Federal Reserve will deliver economy-juicing cuts to interest rates by September.

The local share market has spiked to near-record levels after cooler-than-expected inflation paved the way for the Reserve Bank to cut rates next month.

The coalition has referenced the 1990s sitcom Seinfeld in its criticism of Anthony Albanese's failure to secure a meeting with US President Donald Trump.

US stocks have closed lower as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq retreated from record highs after some disappointing corporate earnings while investors awaited a Federal Reserve policy statement.

The local share market has clawed back losses to close marginally higher ahead of a key inflation readout that could determine whether the Reserve Bank cuts interest rates.

Australia could pivot its approach to US tariffs as deals with other nations make it unlikely President Donald Trump will grant it a full exemption.

The S&P 500 has edged higher to eke out a record high close for a sixth straight session while the Nasdaq also advanced to a closing record in choppy trade.

The local share market has finished higher after the US and the European Union agreed on a preliminary trade deal, greatly easing fears of a global trade war.

Cheaper medicines are on the agenda as federal parliament resumes, following laws to protect penalty rates, reduce university debts and ensure childcare safety.