Jan 16 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to rise on Thursday and possibly even cross 7,000 points for the first time, after the United States and China inked a Phase 1 trade deal, with many hoping it will defuse an 18-month row between the world's two largest economies.
Investors will also focus on quarterly reports from major resource and energy players, South32 Ltd S32.AX , Whitehaven Coal WHC.AX and Woodside Petroleum WPL.AX - the country's largest listed oil and gas explorer.
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 0.2%, a 47.8-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark ended about 0.5% higher on Wednesday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.1% or 10.15 points to 11,686.82 in early trade.