The Australian share market has gained in afternoon trade, helped by higher commodity prices and poker machine maker Aristocrat Leisure's $3.9 billion takeover of a UK gaming software firm. 

By 12:30pm AEDT, the All Ordinaries index had recovered its early losses and was up one third of a per cent, to 7,698. 

The ASX 200 index also rose 0.3 per cent, to 7,385, with most industry sectors trading higher being led by education firms, banks, miners and utilities.

Going down were healthcare and technology firms. 

Oil prices rose to a three-year high on forecasts of a supply crunch that boosted energy firms.

Brent crude was up 1 per cent to $US85.68 a barrel, while spot gold was up 0.2 per cent, to $US1770.94 an ounce. 

Oz Minerals was the best performer on the benchmark index, up 3.5 per cent in the first hour of trade, while Silver Lake Resources did the worst on the ASX 200, down 1.5 per cent by 12:40pm AEDT.

Santos gets green light for Narrabri

Santos shares (0.8pc) rose on higher oil prices. It welcomed the dismissal of an appeal against its Narrabri Gas Project in northern New South Wales.

The oil and gas producer said it Santos now looked forward to getting on with its work in regional NSW.

Managing director and chief executive Kevin Gallagher said that, while the legal process had pushed the timelines for the project back 12 months, Santos was committed to bringing much-needed domestic gas to the state.

Senex Energy jumped nearly 15 per cent after saying South Korean steel giant POSCO wanted to take it over for $815 million.

Travel stocks were boosted as News South Wales reached its 80 per cent double-vaccinated target at the weekend. 

Over lunchtime, the Australian dollar fell 0.1 per cent to around 74.14 US cents, losing its earlier gains. 

$4 billion pokies deal

Poker machines manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure told the market that it would buy a UK online gambling company for 2.1 billion pounds ($3.9 billion), allowing it to expand into new growth areas, including real-money gaming (RMG).

Shareholders of London-listed Playtech are being offered 6 pounds 80 pence ($12.61) per share, a 58.4 per cent premium to the company's closing price on Friday.

Aristocrat said Playtech's board and its largest shareholder, with a stake of about 21 per cent, have backed its offer.

The Australian company said it would fund the deal with a $1.3 billion equity raising, alongside new debt and existing cash.

Aristocrat shares were in a trading halt amid the capital-raising. 

Inflation surges across the ditch

New Zealand's annual inflation rate surged to its highest levels in more than a decade because of booming home prices and housing-related costs, higher vegetable prices, transport costs and fuel prices. 

Consumer prices in the country rose by 2.2  per cent over the September quarter.

Compared to a year ago, NZ consumer prices have jumped by 4.9 per cent.

That pushed up the yield on Australian government bonds, which suggest investors are forecasting an interest rate rise by the Reserve Bank sooner rather than later. 

US stocks climb on Goldman earnings 

Wall Street gained on Friday and the Dow Jones index saw its biggest weekly percentage gain since June, as Goldman Sachs rounded out a week of strong quarterly earnings for the big banks.

Goldman Sachs shares jumped 3.8 per cent and gave the Dow its biggest boost, as a record wave of deal-making activity drove a surge in the bank's quarterly profit.

Its profit report followed strong results from Bank of America and others last week. Banks were among the biggest positives for the S&P 500, with its bank index climbing more than 2 per cent. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 382 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 35,295. The S&P 500 gained 33 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 4,471. And the Nasdaq Composite added 74 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 14,897.

Meanwhile, the US Commerce Department reported a surprise 0.7 per cent rise in retail sales in September, although investors were concerned that supply constraints could disrupt the upcoming holiday shopping season.

A  preliminary reading for consumer sentiment in October came in slightly below expectations.