AAP

US stocks have closed up, though well below their session highs as investors pulled back in the last few minutes of trading despite optimism about US-China trade relations and some reassuring signs in British politics.

The Australian share market has closed higher, buoyed by a surge in banking and energy stocks as trade tensions ease and investors cash in on cheaper shares.

The consumer watchdog has launched a new public inquiry into the conditions under which rival telcos use Telstra's existing copper network.

Westpac shareholders have handed the bank a first strike on executive pay in protest over bonus cuts they say did not go far enough.

Australian shares have edged higher despite volatile overnight trade, with energy, resources and healthcare stocks posting solid early gains.

Gold is holding steady near a five-month peak as expectations for fewer interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve next year supported the non-yielding precious metal.

Oil futures pared most of their gains overnight as stock markets turned negative on worries about a possible US government shutdown.

The S&P 500 and the Dow have closed marginally lower after volatile trading as investors swivelled their focus between China-US trade talks, President Donald Trump's threat to shut down the US government and political uncertainty in Britain.

Mining and health care stocks lifted the Australian share market higher, but the gains did little to recover the significant losses inflicted during Monday's trading.

QBE Insurance has announced a three-year operational efficiency program targeting savings of S130 million in 2021, with the company also flagging better profits in 2019.

Australian shares have extended early gains with the banks and healthcare stocks leading the way as Brexit chaos rages in the UK.

Gold edged lower as the US dollar firmed against the pound on doubts about Britain's departure from the European Union, but falling equities and prospects of a slower pace of US interest rate hikes in 2019 kept bullion near a five-month peak.

Oil prices have fallen nearly two per cent, echoing the weakness in global stock markets as the focus returned to demand growth concerns and crude prices erased some of the gains made last week on an OPEC-led decision to cut output.

The Australian share market slumped to a two-year low, weighed down by the major banks as hopes for a trade resolution between the US and China continue to dissipate.

India have recorded their first Test win in Australia since 2008, with a tense 31-run victory at Adelaide Oval putting the tourists in the box seat to taste unprecedented success against Tim Paine's shattered team.

IOOF Holdings' managing director and chairman have stepped aside following moves by the prudential regulator to disqualify the beleaguered wealth manager's top brass.

Australian shares have slumped at the start of the new trading week, with declines widespread as local markets follow Wall Street lower amid fresh uncertainty over US-China trade.

Wall Street has tumbled in a broad sell-off led by declines in big internet and technology shares, and the benchmark S&P 500 index posted its biggest weekly percentage drop since March as concerns over US-China trade tensions and interest rates convulsed Wall Street.

Oil prices ended the week more than two per cent higher after OPEC members and allies like Russia agreed to reduce output to drain global fuel inventories and support the market, but the gains were

Gold hit a five-month peak as the dollar slid following weaker-than-expected US jobs data, which added to expectations that the US Federal Reserve may go slow on interest rate hikes next year.

Australia missed a golden chance to hammer home their ascendancy despite hometown hero Travis Head's best efforts at Adelaide Oval, where his side reached 7-191 at stumps on day two of the first Test against India.

The Australian share market has closed higher due to strong gains from supermarket and healthcare stocks, offsetting losses to the commodity-related sectors as investors moved away from volatile shares.

The state government has reluctantly accepted an improved offer from the Commonwealth for remote housing funding.

Shares in IOOF Holdings have lost more than a quarter of their value after the prudential regulator moved to disqualify the beleaguered wealth manager's top brass and impose new licence conditions.

The Australian share market has lifted at the open with the healthcare and financial sectors among the best early performers as the bourse shrugs off a choppy Wall Street session and subdued oil prices.

Gold has risen to near a five-month peak on a weaker dollar and on expectations the pace of US interest rate hikes will slow, with the bullion also getting support from falling equities.

Oil fell about three per cent in choppy overnight trade after OPEC and allied exporting countries ended a meeting without announcing a decision to cut crude output, and prepared to debate the matter the next day.

US stocks have closed slightly lower, but well above their session lows, as the arrest of a Chinese technology executive fanned fears of US-China tensions over trade, while some beaten-up big technology and internet shares posted gains.

The Australian share market closed lower, as nervousness about the US economy and the tentative trade stalemate between China and the US weighed on stocks.

Australia have silenced Virat Kohli and every member of India's star-studded top order bar Cheteshwar Pujara, who fought back fastidiously with an impressive century on day one of the first Test at Adelaide Oval.

Australian shares have slipped at the open, dragged lower by heavyweight mining and banking stocks, after Wall Street took the session off to mark the funeral of former US President George Bush Sr.

Global stocks have fallen, plagued by a flattening yield curve that sparked concerns about an economic slowdown in the United States and weakening expectations of a lasting US-China trade truce, while the US dollar steadied.