AAP

Australia is set to officially join a massive trade deal hailed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison as a golden businesses opportunity.

Optus could face a $10 million penalty after the consumer watchdog commenced court proceedings against the mobile firm for misleading customers over subscriptions to expensive and unwanted content.

The corporate watchdog has banned a Perth woman from providing financial services, months after she was jailed for six years for stealing more than $1 million from a local building company.

BHP says its first-quarter iron ore production has risen eight per cent on strong Chinese demand for high-grade ore, while nickel output fell due to a fire at Nickel West's smelter in Kalgoorlie.

The Australian share market has plugged into Wall Street's overnight surge to lift at the open, gaining nearly one per cent with help from banking, energy and healthcare stocks, however the resources sector has lost some of its lustre.

Gold has held steady at near two and a half month highs as dollar weakness offset improved risk appetite among investors, reflected in recovering global stock markets.

Oil prices have edged up in cautious trade as expectations of higher US shale output and inventories vied with worries that crude supply from the Middle East could be disrupted by looming US sanctions on Iran and growing tensions with top exporter Saudi Arabia.

Stocks across the world have bounced back, supported by strong earnings results and expectations, while oil prices rose as evidence of higher US production was overshadowed by concerns about supply from Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The resurgent mining and financial sectors have lifted the Australian share market due to stronger commodity prices.

Big miner Rio Tinto said its third-quarter iron ore shipments have fallen about five per cent, hurt by planned maintenance and safety pauses across all operations following a fatality.

NAB is setting aside $314 million for customer remediation programs, becoming the latest big bank to take a big profit hit due to compensation.

The prospects of a GST overhaul have been given a boost today, after the federal government said the proposed legislation would include safeguards to ensure every jurisdiction will be in a better financial position over a set period.

The banking and resources sectors are recovering after a day on the slide, with the heavyweight stocks lifting Australian shares at the open and away from a six-month low.

US stocks have fallen at the open as an increase in tensions between Western powers and Saudi Arabia added to worries over rising borrowing costs and the impact of tariffs, following the main three indexes' biggest weekly declines in over seven months.

Gold has risen to its highest level in two and a half months as a slide in global stock markets, exacerbated by mounting tensions between Western powers and Saudi Arabia, forced investors to find safety and unwind some bearish bets in the metal.

Oil prices have steadied, supported by geopolitical tension over the disappearance of a Saudi journalist that has stoked worries about supplies from the world's top crude exporter, but weighed by concern over long-term demand outlook.c

Overseas weakness has proven to be a drag on the Australian share market, with the benchmark index falling to a six-month low led by losses in banking and mining stocks.

Coles' supermarket sales have jumped during the first quarter, with parent company Wesfarmers citing a successful 'Little Shop' campaign, and investment in flybuys promotions, as preparations continue for a vote on the chain's proposed demerger.

An already-bruised Australian share market is ignoring a lead from Wall Street and a commodity price rebound to dive lower at the open, with the banks and miners weighing heavily amid broad-based losses.

Crude futures have steadied late in the session, following the stock market slightly higher, after earlier swinging lower on a weakening oil demand outlook.

Gold prices have eased after their biggest daily gain in more than two years, coming under pressure as the US dollar climbed and global stocks rebounded from a six-day rout.

The Australian share market has finished flat after its worst trading week in almost three years.

The Australian share market was lower at midday, dragged down by the big banks and energy stocks hit by plunging oil prices.

Wall Street indexes continued their slide in a volatile session as investors worried about rising interest rates and braced for a trade war hit to corporate earnings.

Oil prices have slumped to more than two-week lows as global stock markets fall, with investor sentiment made more bearish by a bigger-than-expected build in US crude inventories.

Gold prices have jumped over two per cent to more than a two-month high as tumbling global stock markets sent investors rushed to the safe-haven asset.

A host of WA gold miners including Evolution Mining, Saracen Mineral Holdings and Regis Resources registered strong gains today, as the broader market suffered its second worst day of the year.

Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn has spoken face-to-face with customers affected by the kind of misconduct revealed at the banking royal commission.

Wesfarmers has appointed a new managing director to run office supplies business Officeworks, with Sarah Hunter from Coles stepping into the role.

The Australian share market has plunged at the open, with every sector deep in the red following Wall Street's overnight tumble.

US stocks have tumbled, with the S&P 500 and the Dow marking their biggest daily declines since February 8 and technology stocks were at the centre of the carnage as rising US Treasury yields sent investors fleeing from risky assets.

Oil prices dropped two per cent overnight as US equity markets broadly fell, even though energy traders worried about shrinking Iranian supply from US sanctions and kept an eye on Hurricane Michael, which closed some US Gulf of Mexico oil output.