Australian shares are set to open higher, after US stocks posted small gains as investors bet on Fed rate cuts in the first half of the year.
ASX futures were up 0.2% or 15 point as of 8:30am on Wednesday, suggesting a higher open.
U.S. stocks posted modest gains on Tuesday, resuming a strong rally in November that has been propelled by tumbling U.S. bond yields.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up about 83 points, or 0.2%, ending near 35,416, according to preliminary FactSet data. The S&P 500 index was 0.1% higher, while the Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 0.3%.
In commodity markets, Brent crude oil rose 2.1% to US$81.62 a barrel while gold was up 1.4% to US$2,041.29.
In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was down at 4.22% while the 10 Year yield was also down at 4.49%. US Treasury notes were down, with the 2 Year yield at 4.74% and the 10 Year yield at 4.33%.
The Australian dollar hit 66.43 US cents up from the previous close of 66.06. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was down at 97.46.