MELBOURNE, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Australian stocks face a flat start, in line with New Zealand, with a jump in oil prices set to boost the energy sector, while concerns about U.S. growth following a sharp drop in durable goods orders may hold back gains.
Giving mixed signals, local share price index futures YAPcm1 climbed 0.3 percent to 4,939 to sit at a 37.2-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark rose 0.6 percent on Thursday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 slipped 3.9 points to 6,145.76 in early trade.
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