July 23 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to edge higher on Thursday, after Wall Street peers managed to end higher overnight on hopes for further stimulus measures, although rising coronavirus cases in the country and around the globe will likely cap gains.
All three major indexes on Wall Street closed higher on Wednesday at the end of a choppy session. .N
Australia, however, posted a record number of new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, prompting authorities to make masks mandatory in Melbourne and flag a hit to third quarter economic output. local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 0.1% or 7 points, a 27.1-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark closed 1.3% lower on Wednesday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.05% in early trade.