By Soumyajit Saha
Jan 21 (Reuters) - Australian shares are expected to gain on Thursday, tracking a rise on Wall Street after Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th U.S. president, while robust commodity prices will likely boost local mining and energy stocks.
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 0.5%, a 23.4-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark rose 0.4% on Wednesday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.6% in early trade.