AAP

Serbia has revoked Rio Tinto's lithium exploration licences, bowing to protesters who opposed the planned $3.3 billion Jadar development on environmental grounds.

National cabinet has agreed not to shorten the isolation time for positive COVID-19 cases from seven to five days.

US payments giant Block has made an unconvincing ASX debut while the traditional heavyweights - the miners - held the market higher.

Western Australia's unemployment rate dropped to 3.4 per cent in December, its lowest in 13 years.

Technology shares have plunged and the incredible story of Afterpay stock came to an end as ASX investors suffered broad losses.

Text messages between Mark McGowan and John Quigley will become public as part of his defamation battle with Clive Palmer.

Economists are still confident of a further drop in the unemployment rate and a relatively solid rise in employment when the December labour force figures are released on Thursday.

Two separate surveys have found consumers and bosses are showing some resilience in the face of the Omicron outbreak.

A second-half fade for the ASX caused by rising bond yields has reminded investors higher interest rates could dominate 2022.

Consumer confidence has slumped due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant and the immense strain this has put on testing facilities.

Investors have raised the ASX a little after China's central bank cut loan rates on more signs of a slowing economy.

Wesfarmers is on track for first-half earnings that meet investor expectations despite Kmart and Target struggling from coronavirus impacts.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says taxation will be a clear battleline between the coalition and Labor at the upcoming federal election.

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has cancelled the visa of world No.1 tennis player Novak Djokovic days out from the Australian Open.

Shares had their biggest loss in more than a week as a US technology crash spilled over into the Australian market.

Australia's peak union body has called a crisis meeting after the prime minister's "failure" to protect workers and community safety by making rapid antigen tests free.

Iron ore miners have benefited from production challenges in Brazil and ensured ASX investors are ahead for the week with one trading day remaining.

A broad-based rally on the ASX could be forgotten within hours as Wall Street investors brace for figures which one analyst tipped will show peak inflation.

The federal government has flagged filling gaps in essential service roles with temporary visa holders, older Australians and the unemployed.

Supermarkets and chicken suppliers were among the shares ditched on the ASX as the latest coronavirus wave poses a serious challenge to earnings.

Retail sales soared by 7.3 per cent in November after last year's easing of COVID-19 restrictions, but there are signs the subsequent emergence of the Omicron variant has since curbed spending.

Consumer confidence has fallen across Australia as a result of the rapid spread of the Omicron strain of COVID-19, potentially dampening the outlook for retail spending.

Commodity-based shares proved a saving grace for ASX investors after they offset an Australian market mostly weighed by US rate rise worries.

The federal government is working to ease pressure on supply chains amid spiking Omicron cases as stock is thinning out on supermarket shelves.

A second broad-based rally helped the ASX close the first week of 2022 slightly ahead, although the prospect of earlier rate hikes remains a worry for investors.

Woolworths Group has withdrawn its bid for Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (API), leaving Wesfarmers as the only suitor for the Priceline Pharmacy owner.

Australian shares had their biggest one-day fall since September 2020 as investors panicked about interest rates rising sooner than expected.

Australia and Japan are set to ink a security treaty that Prime Minister Scott Morrison describes as "historic" during a virtual summit with his Japanese counterpart.

Investors tempered their new year enthusiasm and lowered the ASX on the second day of 2022 trade as the latest wave of coronavirus infections dominated the economic agenda in many countries.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese has challenged the prime minister to make rapid antigen tests free, backing calls for them to be available for all Australians.

The Australian share market has climbed to its highest level in more than four months as investors looked past surging local coronavirus cases to track gains on the US bourses.

Australia has passed the grim milestone of more than 500,000 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.