Dec 22 (Reuters) - Australian shares are likely to open higher on Thursday, with commodity stocks seen benefitting from the retreat of the U.S. dollar from a 14-year peak. .N FRX/ ECONUS
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 fell 0.1 percent, or 8 points, to 5,571, a 42.5-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark closed 0.4 percent up, sticking to its 16-month high.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 opened 0.23 percent, or 15.9 points up, to 6,818.7 at 2112 GMT
For a summary of overnight action across global markets, double click on AU/CALL
For a digest of the day's business stories in Australian newspapers, double click on PRESS/AUB