SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) - Australian shares are expected to open higher Thursday as investors build on the previous session's modest gains in the absence of any other leads.
With most traders away from their desks for the rest of the week, shares are likely to inch higher after Wall Street finished flat and London was closed for the Christmas holidays.
'Today will test our market's strength and integrity. Will we build on Monday's gains? My reading of the signs is that yes we can,' said Stuart Smith, a private client advisor at Bell Potter Securities.
'We have got nothing much to go on.'
On Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 76.6 points or 1.2 percent to 6,323.6 and the All Ordinaries was up 78.6 points or 1.2 percent at 6,388.0.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.36 points or 0.02 percent to 13,551.69 on Wednesday after US retail chain store sales rose a weaker-than-expected 2.8 percent last week, rounding out a sluggish December performance.
The dismal retail spending figures should not have a negative impact on the Australian market, Stuart said.
'They have been telling people to stop spending in the US for the last 12-18 months. Less household debt would be very acceptable to their economy so I would have taken that as a definite positive,' he said.
In London on Christmas Eve, the FTSE 100 index closed up 45.2 points or 0.7 percent at 6,479.3.
BHP Billiton finished 2.5 percent higher after the UK Takeover Panel told the world's biggest miner to make a firm takeover offer for Rio Tinto by February 6. Rio Tinto gained 1.8 percent.
The London Metals Exchange, closed for Christmas and Boxing Day, will reopen later today.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange overnight, a barrel of light, sweet crude for February delivery rose 1.84 US dollars to settle at 95.97 dollars. Oil rose to a one-month high of 96.35 US dollars during the session.
Gold prices rose as the US dollar retreated, with an ounce of gold for February delivery climbing 13.00 dollars to close at 829.50 dollars.
(1 US dollar = 1.14 Australian dollars)
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