AAP

Engineering firm Downer EDI has won a construction contract worth up to $170 million at the Chevron-operated Gorgon gas project on Barrow Island off the north-west coast of Western Australia.

The Australian sharemarket is flat following a quiet night overseas.

The Australian dollar has slipped a little after a quiet night of trade with volumes down because of a US public holiday.

The price of gold rose on the European spot market on Monday, pushed up slightly by the escalation of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The Reserve Bank is not expected to make any change to the cash rate when it meets on Tuesday, and a rate hike looks unlikely before the middle of 2015.

Global oil prices slid on Monday in subdued deals before a public holiday in the United States and as dealers digested weak Chinese manufacturing data, analysts said.

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto may be powering ahead, but Australia's mining sector has taken a serious hit in the wake of sliding commodity prices.

The Australian share market has closed almost flat in the absence of any major corporate news and with little impact from Chinese manufacturing data.

The operator of Westfield shopping centres in Australia and New Zealand says it would consider selling partial stakes in some of its centres.

Australia is ramping up its business and trade sanctions against Russia.

The Abbott government is making a new attempt to repeal the mining tax - and axe a suite of associated welfare measures.

Movie and TV streaming service Quickflix has blown out its full-year loss to more than $10 million after ramping up spending to attract new customers.

The Australian share market has opened higher after markets in the United States and Europe lifted on Friday.

Federal coalition tensions are mounting as a two-year deal on port access for bulk wheat exports expires in a month.

The Australian dollar has started the week lower following gains in its US counterpart.

Palladium closed above $US900 a troy ounce for the first time in more than a decade, extending its recent rally as rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine stoke fears about supply.

Seven oils wheels with $100m stake

US stock markets brushed off rising tensions over Ukraine and Iraq to push through to new records, underpinned by easy money and steady growth in corporate profits.

The stock market has closed flat as the impact on miners of weaker iron ore prices, and falls by the retail giants, were offset by gains in other sectors.

Treasurer Joe Hockey has issued a fresh invitation to Chinese state-owned enterprises to invest in Australia.

Maintenance and asset management firm Transfield Services has returned to profit and expects its positive momentum to continue.

The Australian stock market has opened flat despite reports that Russian that are actively fighting in eastern Ukraine spooking markets overnight.

Qantas will need to come good on its promise to improve its earnings and lower debt in the next six months if it is to avoid another downgrade to its credit rating.

Virgin Australia's full-year net loss has grown more than three-fold to $355.6 million.

Woolworths has lifted its profit 8.5 per cent and is expects a moderate increase for the year ahead.

The Australian dollar hit a three week high, after the release of strong local business investment figures.

US stocks have fallen modestly as rising fears about renewed tensions between Ukraine and Russia outweighed a batch of encouraging US economic data.

Oil prices have traded mixed amid renewed tension between Ukraine and Russia and a batch of encouraging US economic reports.

The share market closed lower as a drop in iron ore prices and more companies paying out dividends dragged on prices.

Australia's second largest gold miner Northern Star Resources has suffered a 15 per cent fall in profit after buying the Jundee mine and paying redundancies.

Australian stocks have opened lower, on the the back of soft commodity prices and a flat US session.

Iron ore miner Atlas Iron has returned to profit and is forecasting higher production and lower costs in fiscal year 2015.