AAP

The Australian dollar is almost unchanged from where it finished Friday's local session, after a mixed session on metals markets and the major Wall Street stock indexes finishing slightly lower.

Oil prices fell more than $US2 per barrel on Friday as Saudi Arabia and Russia discussed easing production cuts that have helped push crude prices to their highest since 2014.

Gold prices dropped slightly on Friday, but still remained above $US1,300 per ounce as investors digested news of US President Donald Trump saying a meeting with North Korea's leader could still go ahead.

The Australian share market has closed flat, with a lack of domestic and international news leaving investors with little to direct their activity.

A Queensland court has ordered the freezing of hundreds of millions of dollars of Clive Palmer's assets.

Labor's candidate for the Western Australian state seat of Darling Range has resigned after a week of having her credibility and study history questioned.

The Australian share market has opened lower, weighed down by falls in energy stocks, and concerns over the cancellation of the US-North Korea summit.

The Australian dollar is slightly higher despite falls on Wall Street, which were sparked by the cancellation of the US-North Korea Summit.

Oil prices fell about $US1 on Thursday, with expectations building that reduced supplies from Venezuela and Iran could prompt OPEC to wind down output cuts in place since the start of 2017.

Gold prices surged on Thursday, propelled above $US1,300 per ounce as the US dollar faded after US President Donald Trump called off a summit with North Korea, stoking political tensions.

Voters in two WA federal seats will likely go to by-elections on July 28 to avoid school holidays and await new rules for candidates.

The Australian share market has closed slightly higher as weakness among the banks, miners and energy companies was offset by gains by retailers and industrial stocks.

Westfield Corporation shareholders have voted in favour of a $33 billion takeover by Paris property giant Unibail-Rodamco, marking the end of an era for the Lowy family.

The Australian share market is slightly lower amid weaker base metals prices and further falls for the big four banks.

The Australian dollar is higher after Wall Street made modest gains as it appear less likely the US Federal Reserve will increase the pace of its interest rate hikes this year.

Oil benchmarks fell on Wednesday after an unexpected build in US crude and gasoline inventories despite strong demand, and as traders weighed a possible increase in OPEC crude output to cover any shortfalls in supply from Iran and Venezuela.

Gold prices rose on Wednesday as the US dollar backed off its highs against a basket of currencies while investors interpreted minutes from the US Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting as dovish.

The Australian share market has closed slightly lower as energy shares tumbled after Santos rejected a $US10.9 billion takeover offer.

The long-delayed footbridge linking East Perth to Optus Stadium will not be ready by the end of May despite previous assurances by the McGowan government.

Commonwealth Bank has agreed to sell its stake in Chinese life insurer BoComm Life for $668 million.

Rio Tinto has confirmed it is in talks about the potential purchase of its stake in the Indonesian Grasberg mine for $3.5 billion.

Optus will pay $1.5 million in penalties for pressuring customers to move to the National Broadband Network sooner than required and misleading some of them about NBN service options.

The Australian market has opened fractionally higher as gains in base metal prices lifted the big miners and US President Donald Trump's trade war comments spooked Wall Street investors.

The Australian dollar is slightly lower after Wall Street fell, weighed down by comments from US President Donald Trump about the US-China trade talks.

Brent crude prices settled slightly higher on Tuesday after a volatile session in which potential supply concerns surrounding Venezuela and Iran jockeyed with comments from President Donald Trump, who said he was not pleased with US-China trade talks.

Gold prices have steadied just above their lowest point for the year as the US dollar fell from a five-month high, although risk appetite in the broader financial markets kept the metal's gains in check.

The Australian market share has posted its largest daily fall in seven weeks due to weakness for Telstra, the major banks and mining giants.

Federal Labor is demanding the Turnbull government hand over details of the deal it struck with Pauline Hanson to get her support to cut business taxes, a pact One Nation is now reneging on.

Telstra has blamed a software fault for its second widespread network outage in a month, which left customers unable to make calls or use mobile data. 

Private hospital operator Healthscope, which owns Perth's Mount Hospital, has rejected two competing takeover proposals it says undervalue the company, even as it lowers its earnings guidance due t

Australian shares have opened lower, shrugging off improvements seen on most global markets overnight including strong gains on Wall Street. 

The Australian dollar is higher, after US stocks, oil and copper prices gained ground overnight.