WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar is lower after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged but kept a September rate rise on the table.
At 0630 AEST on Thursday, the currency was trading at 72.97 US cents, down from 73.21 US cents on Friday.
And the share market is set to open higher after another positive session on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7 per cent after the US Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate at near-zero per cent and gave no fresh clues on the timing of a long-awaited rate hike.
At 0645 AEST on Thursday, the September share price index futures contract was up 35 points at 5,608.
ELSEWHERE:
WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark federal funds interest rate unchanged at near zero per cent as expected, providing no fresh hints on when a long-awaited rate rise might come.
SAN FRANCISCO - Facebook's profit in the second quarter dipped from a year ago but the company posted a big jump in revenues and saw active users approach 1.5 billion.
ATHENS - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has warned he would resort to early elections if hardliners in his party continued to resist an unpopular new bailout deal that promised debt relief.
LONDON - British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline has posted slumping quarterly earnings, hit partly by lower profit margins for vaccines acquired under an asset swap deal with Swiss peer Novartis.
PARIS - French automaker Peugeot has announced a return to profitability in the first half of the year with a net profit of 571 million euros ($A860.78 million), sending its share price soaring.
PARIS - French oil giant Total has announced a four per cent slide in net profit in the second quarter while increased output, costs savings and improved refinery margins helped offset plunging oil prices.
BERLIN - Volkswagen, which recently pipped Toyota for the world's biggest carmaker title, has lowered its global sales forecast for 2015, citing weaker demand from China and other key markets.
TOKYO - Nissan says its net profit for the three months to June soared 36 per cent to $A1.69 billion on strong sales in North America and Europe.
TOKYO - Japanese electronics giant Panasonic says its net profit soared 57 per cent from a year ago, mainly thanks to a tax accounting change as the electronics giant continues to reshape its business.
SEOUL - South Korea's LG Electronics has reported a 45 per cent drop in its second-quarter net profit owing to sluggish smartphone sales and unfavourable currency rates.
TOKYO - Japanese video game giant Nintendo says it swung to a $US67 million ($A91.32 million) net profit in the three months to June, owing to a jump in console sales and a weaker yen.
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