AAP

The Australian share market has closed lower for a second day after the Reserve Bank raised the cash rate higher than expected.

A push by the AGL Energy board to demerge the company with the 75 per cent shareholder approval is facing a potential hurdle after a billionaire bought shares.

The ASX has closed sharply lower following Friday's sharp selloff on Wall Street, although its losses eased in the afternoon.

Manufacturing is growing at its fastest pace in almost a year, despite the constraints of skilled worker shortages and rising input prices and wages.

The ASX has closed out April with its best two-day rally since May 2020, to finish the month down just 0.86 per cent.

Rising international fuel prices and outages at Australia's coal-fired power plants are pushing wholesale electricity costs up, the market operator has warned.

The Australian share market has bounced bank from three days of losses, gaining 1.3 per cent, its best single-day performance since January 28.

Tasmania will from Monday become the final Australian state to drop the seven-day isolation for household contacts of people with COVID-19.

The Australian share market is down for its third consecutive day, this time with tech stocks and the banking sector hit after Tuesday's commodities sell-off.

Confidence eased slightly in the past week and could fall further as the latest inflation data highlights the extent of cost of living pressures.

Former West Australian treasurer Troy Buswell has been handed a suspended prison sentence for repeatedly attacking his ex-wife.

The ASX has suffered its worst session since the start of the war in Ukraine, with miners and oil producers sharply lower following China's COVID outbreak.

Elon Musk has reached an agreement to buy Twitter for $61 billion, promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the social media platform.

A hearing to consider wage rises of up to 25 per cent for aged care workers is underway at the Fair Work Commission.

The Australian share market has been saturated with red over concerns the global economy is headed for a difficult period.

Travel booking company Trivago has been fined $44.7 million after a Federal Court judge found it intentionally misled consumers about hotel room rates.

Most sectors, including energy, property, industrials and financials, have recorded strong trader interest, pushing the Australian share market higher.

Firms are being warned to look out for and report dodgy payments as criminals opt for the anonymity of cryptocurrencies.

Healthcare stocks lifted the S&P/ASX200 to just shy of its record high before the market pulled back in afternoon trading.

Consumer confidence has increased to its highest level since early March in response to a further drop in petrol prices in the past week.

Traders have backed energy and banking stocks after returning to their desks following the Easter long weekend.

Scott Morrison has used his trip to Western Australia to announce grants for eight businesses in the mining and energy sector, with the biggest grants going to two new hydrogen hubs.

Australian shares gained 0.6 per cent before the Easter long weekend despite financial stocks coming under pressure.

The government has announced a $220 million forestry package, while Labor is keen to keep the focus on health as the first week of campaigning nears its end.

Australian shares have closed higher, helped by gains in the heavyweight energy and materials shares.

Cobalt from Australia's Murrin Murrin mine will power General Motors' Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Hummer and Cadillac Lyriq electric vehicles under a new deal.

Investors have lowered all ASX share categories before the release of US inflation figures, which are tipped to show a 40-year record.

Gillon McLachlan is set to announce that he will step aside as AFL chief executive at the end of the 2022 season.

Consumer confidence rose for a second week in a row as petrol prices continued to retreat from the $2 a litre mark.

Investors baulked at moving the Australian share market as an election campaign, hefty dividend payouts and surging bond yields gave them plenty to reconsider.

This week's jobs data will give Scott Morrison's election campaign a shot in the arm, with the nation's unemployment rate expected to fall below four per cent.

Investors on the ASX bounced back to post gains at the end of a week highlighted by central bank warnings of rate increases.