AAP

Gold prices have risen by as much as one per cent from two-week lows as the US dollar tumbled after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that interest rates were near normal, soothing investor worries over the pace of rate hikes.

The Australian share market has closed slightly lower, dragged down by losses to the major miners after mixed commodity prices overnight.

Rio Tinto has appointed former CSIRO chairman and 2011 Australian of the Year Simon McKeon as an independent non-executive director.

The big miners are weighing on the Australian share market at the open, though energy and health care stocks eked out early gains to curb the losses.

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average have edged higher after White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said an upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart is an opportunity to "turn the page" on a trade war.

Oil prices fell more than one per cent overnight, in conjunction with sagging stock markets after US President Donald Trump threatened more tariffs on Chinese imports ahead of the coming G20 summit.

Gold fell overnight to its lowest in more than a week, as the dollar rallied after comments from US Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida bolstered expectations that the central bank would continue raising interest rates.

An accounting company director in Perth who stole more than $43,000 has been spared an immediate prison sentence.

The Australian share market has closed higher after a positive afternoon of trading, buoyed by the financial sector and supported by commodity-related stocks.

The federal government will lay out its tax and spending plans unusually early in 2019, after the budget brought forward by a month to allow for an election in May.

Oil prices have risen about three per cent, clawing back some of the previous session's steep losses, although gains where capped by uncertainty over global economic growth and further signs of increasing supply, including record Saudi production.

Gold firmed overnight, supported by uncertainty over the future pace of US interest rate hikes and the outcome of the G20 summit later this week when global leaders will focus on trade tensions.

The Australian share market suffered broad-based losses but it was the commodity-related stocks bleeding red which was the biggest drag on the indices.

Global miner Rio Tinto says it will sell its entire stake in Rossing Uranium to China National Uranium Corp for up to $106.5 million.

The embattled Myer board has made a fresh pitch to shareholders ahead of a likely explosive annual general meeting on Friday, declaring the completion of its refinancing was a vote of confidence.

Real estate developer Dexus says it has agreed to set up a $2 billion trust with Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC to invest in Australian logistics properties.

Mining and energy stocks have plunged more than two per cent each, bleeding red all over the Australian share market in a commodity-fuelled opening dive.

US stocks have closed lower in a shortened post-holiday trading session as the energy sector tumbled on continued weakness in oil prices, and the benchmark S&P 500 confirmed its second correction of 2018.

Gold prices have slipped as investors banked on the safety of the dollar over worries about a slowdown in the global economy, exacerbated by a sharp decline in oil prices.

Oil prices have slumped up to nearly eight per cent to the lowest in more than a year, posting the seventh consecutive weekly loss, amid intensifying fears of a supply glut even as major producers consider cutting output.

The Thanksgiving holiday in the US led to a stagnant day of trading on the Australian share market, where banking and energy stocks recouped value and lifted the indices higher.

Wellard shareholders have given the cattle exporter's remuneration report a strike for the second time in three years at today's annual meeting in Fremantle.

SPG Law, a British offshoot of a US litigator, represents 240,000 individuals in Brazil, 24 municipal governments, a Roman Catholic Archdiocese and members of the Krenak indigenous community, and has filed three legal claims for unlimited damages over the failure of the Fundao dam in 2015.

The Australian share market has edged lower during volatile early trade, dragged down by the miners and energy stocks but lifted by retailers and consumer stocks.

Gold firmed near two-week highs overnight as the dollar weakened on doubts about the pace of future US interest rate hikes.

Oil prices dipped overnight after US inventories swelled to their highest level since December adding to concerns about a global crude glut but OPEC talk of an output cut limited losses.

The Australian share market has pushed off from the depths of recent lows and closed higher for the first time this week due to broad-based gains to the indices' major sectors.

Australian shares have opened higher thanks to gains for the heavyweight sectors, with the big miners a particular lift for the bourse in early trade.

Oil prices rose about $US1 a barrel a barrel overnight, bouncing from the lowest levels in months, after US government data showed strong demand for refined fuel, but concerns remained over rising global crude supply.

The S&P 500 ended higher after a brutal two-day sell-off, led by a rebound in energy and technology shares, but the market faltered toward the session's end as Apple shares surrendered gains ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Gold prices have risen to a two-week high as the dollar slipped, with uncertainty on the pace of interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve also supporting the metal.

A late rally from banking and health care helped lift the Australian share market off a near two-year low but commodity-related stocks and tech shares weighed heavily.