AAP

Senator Linda Reynolds' chief of staff when Brittany Higgins was allegedly raped in parliament may not be able to give evidence to the politician's high-profile defamation trial with her former staffer.

An earnings report by JB Hi-Fi bolstered the consumer discretionary sector, with the ASX200 finishing 0.5 per cent higher.

All three major indexes gain for the day; Expedia rises after Q2 profit beat; Indexes: Dow up 0.1 per cent, S&P 500 up 0.5 per cent, Nasdaq up 0.5 per cent.

Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds has denied she suspected Brittany Higgins had been raped following an incident in her ministerial office, as her handling of the case is probed at a defamation trial.

Senator Linda Reynolds has told a defamation trial she was exposing corruption when she sent confidential documents about Brittany Higgins' payout to media.

Senator Linda Reynolds says she sent confidential documents related to Brittany Higgins to a journalist because she believed the attorney-general was "stitching" her up.

The ASX200 finished up 0.4 per cent after falling 5.8 per cent over Friday and Monday, its worst two-day drop since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Australian share market has suffered its worst day in more than four years as rising fears of a US recession sparked global panic selling.

Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds says she's looking forward to take the stand as a witness and tell the truth at a defamation trial against Brittany Higgins.