SYDNEY, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Australian shares are headed for their seventh straight day of gains on Thursday helped by a strong lead from Wall Street and a rebound in oil prices.
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 1.4 percent overnight, a 29.2-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark rose 0.5 percent in the last session.
Despite recent gains, the index is down 0.4 percent in December, a far cry from gains of 0.6-3.2 percent for the month in the past three years.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.12 percent to 6,202.99 in early trade, staying near record highs scaled in the previous session.
For a summary of overnight action across global markets, double click on AU/CALL
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