March 30 (Reuters) - Australian shares are expected to cool off at the open on Thursday after two straight days of gains, trailing a slight rise on Wall Street where investors began looking ahead to first-quarter earnings season.
Higher oil prices LCOc1 are expected to keep energy stocks buoyant. O/R
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 0.09 percent, or 5 points, to 5,865, an 8.5-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close.
The benchmark rose nearly 1 percent in the previous session.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 was up 1.92 points at 7,135.49 at 2109 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