Headline indices of the Australian share market were down in choppy trade on Thursday, 01 November 2018, after erasing early gains inspired by following the positive lead from Wall Street overnight, with shares in materials & resources issues being notable gainers, while energy stocks were notable losers after oil prices fell overnight on evidence of rising global crude supply. In late afternoon trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 9.01 points, or 0.15%, at 5,821.30 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 4.71 points, or 0.1%, to 5,908.60 points.

Shares of materials and resources companies were higher, with shares of Rio Tinto, and Fortescue were up in a range of 1% to 2%. BHP Billiton gained more than 4% after the miner said it will return A$10.4 billion to shareholders, through an off-market A$5.2 billion share buyback that it will start immediately, and the remaining A$5.2 billion through a special dividend to be calculated on December 17.

Shares of banks and financials were mostly higher, with National Australia Bank shares up 1% after the lender said its full-year cash profit declined 14% on restructuring costs and customer remediation, while statutory profit rose 5%. Commonwealth Bank's shares fell almost 1% after it said it is issuing debt through a hybrid capital notes offer to raise about A$750 million. Westpac was down almost 1% and ANZ Banking was lower by 0.5%.

Shares of wealth manager AMP inclined 10% after reports the country's biggest investment bank Macquarie Group is mulling a takeover of the embattled firm, reeling under Royal Commission inquiry.

Shares of energy companies were mostly weak after crude oil prices fell for a third straight session overnight. WTI crude for December declined $0.87 or 1.3% to close at $65.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Woodside Petroleum and Santos were lower in a range of 0.5% to 1%, while Oil Search was up 0.2%.

ECONOMIC NEWS: The latest survey from the Australian Industry Group revealed that the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in October, albeit at a slightly slower rate, with a Performance of Manufacturing Index score of 58.3. That's down from 59.0, although it remains well above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

CURRENCY: Australian Dollar was lower against greenback and other major currencies on Thursday. The Australian dollar was quoted at $0.7079, down from $0.7089 on Wednesday.

OFFSHORE MARKET: US stock market closed higher on Wednesday, with investors cautiously moving cash into beaten-down equities that are trading at their cheapest levels in more than two years even as headline risks related to U.S.-China trade rising interest rates and weakening corporate earnings continue to challenge sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 241.12 points or 1% to 25,115.76, the Nasdaq soared 144.25 points or 2% to 7,305.90 and the S&P 500 surged up 29.11 points or 1.1% to 2,711.74

European markets ended higher on Wednesday. The French CAC 40 Index surged up by 2.3%. The German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped 1.4% and 1.3%, respectively.