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Australia's wild and unpredictable stock market has leapt more than one per cent as investors scrambled to snap up bank, supermarket and big mining stocks.

Up to 1.2m public staff could work from home

Oil prices fell below $US30 a barrel overnight as the worldwide coronavirus outbreak worsened over the weekend, exacerbating fears that government lockdowns to contain the spread of the disease would spark a global recession.

Platinum plunged nearly 27 per cent overnight to its weakest level since 2002, while gold dived over five per cent as investors unloaded precious metals in exchange for cash after a second emergency US rate cut failed to quell coronavirus fears across markets.

Australia's share market has suffered its worst points loss in history as the coronavirus epidemic worsens, with another $182 billion in value wiped from the books.

Business News has one aim, to provide Western Australians with vital intelligence.

Leederville-based jeweller Rohan Milne is championing affordability, accessibility and availability with his latest venture.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has pumped extra liquidity into the banking system, part of a package of measures aimed at ensuring business and households have access to credit as the coronavirus causes chaos in global financial markets.

Western Australian schools will introduce new precautionary measures, including cancelling assemblies and staggering recess and lunch breaks, to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Australia's volatile share market has plunged more than six per cent after sentiment for equities suddenly soured despite rate cuts from the Federal Reserve and other central banks.

Gold tumbled as much as 4.5 per cent on Friday as investors embarked on a selling spree to hoard cash and meet margin calls across other markets which have been battered by the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Oil prices on Friday posted their biggest week of losses since the 2008 global financial crisis, rocked by the coronavirus outbreak and efforts by top exporter Saudi Arabia and its allies to flood the market with record levels of supply.

Decmil plays the blame game with NZ Corrections

The Australian share market has staged a dramatic recovery from its morning losses of as much as 8.1 per cent to finish 4.4 per cent higher.

West Leederville-based medtech startup Singular Health will raise $1 million ahead of a planned IPO in September, with PAC Partners appointed lead manager for the listing.

The Australian Grand Prix has been cancelled as the prime minister faces calls to cancel mass gatherings to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Australia's share market has tanked another four per cent amid panic selling after the worst day ever for European equity markets and the most calamitous for Wall Street since 1987.

Welfare groups want more spending

Wall Street has tanked, slamming the book on the longest-ever US bull market after new travel restrictions to curb the coronavirus spread spooked investors and rattled world markets.

Brent crude slid 7 per cent overnight after President Donald Trump restricted travel to the United States from Europe as part of measures to try to halt the spread of coronavirus pandemic.

Palladium prices have plunged as much as 28 per cent as panic selling driven by intensifying fears over the coronavirus pandemic seeped into precious metals, with gold slumping more than four per cent as investors rushed to cover margin calls in other assets.

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti has disputed claims made by opposition leader Liza Harvey at yesterday's Business News Politics & Policy breakfast that manufacturing rail cars in Western Australia constituted an investment in a failed and unsustainable industry.

The Australian share market has suffered yet another day of carnage, plunging again after US President Donald Trump suspended travel from Europe for a month to limit the coronavirus pandemic.

The West Australian Police Union has rejected a fifth and final wage offer from the state government, which means the dispute may go to the Industrial Relations Commission.

Woodside casts more doubt on LNG projects

Oil prices fell 4 per cent overnight with renewed weakness in the stock market after the World Health Organisation said the global coronavirus outbreak is now a pandemic, and as major oil producers announced plans to escalate the burgeoning price war.

Gold prices fell on Wednesday as traders sold the precious metal to cover margins for stock markets spooked by the global spread of coronavirus.

Liza Harvey has positioned herself as a reliable ally for WA businesses, outlining an agenda prioritising job creation and economic diversification at a Politics & Policy breakfast today.

There's no bottom in sight for the Australian share market, which has shed all of Tuesday's gains to close at its lowest level in 14 months.

Investors have switched to sell mode again as they wait for details on stimulus, sending Australia's volatile share market lower despite a rally on Wall Street overnight.

Tax relief is the remedy

Oil prices jumped more than eight per cent overnight, bouncing from the biggest rout in nearly 30 years as the possibility of economic stimulus encouraged buying and US producers slashed spending in a move that could cut output.