The Australian share market is set to increase modestly this morning, as US stocks rise slightly and oil prices surge.
As of 6:30am AEDT, futures in the ASX 200 were up 0.4 per cent to 6,609.
Both the benchmark and the All Ordinaries broke even yesterday.
That followed a slight gain on the first day of trade for 2021, as the markets wrangle with both the hope of a new year and a fresh set of COVID cases in Australia and overseas.
The market has been buoyed by gold stocks, which were Tuesday's top performers in Australia.
The price of the reliable commodity has been steadily rising since December.
The spot price was up 0.5 per cent to US$1,956 early Wednesday.
Oil prices are also rising, with a surge in almost 5 per cent for both US oil and brent.
The US stock market is trading up in its afternoon session, with gains of 0.9 per cent in all three of its main benchmarks.
European stocks closed largely in the red, bar the German DAX, as London goes into another COVID lockdown.
More than 75,500 people have now died of the virus in the UK.
More to come.