Stock index futures gained 19 points to 4689.0, a   premium of 36.6 points to Wednesday's close in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.2 percent to 3,383.2 in early trade.

In Japan, the UN atomic agency said there had been some positive developments at the Fukushima nuclear plant 250 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo but the overall situation remained serious.

US stocks advanced on Wednesday as materials shares rose. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 67.39 points, or 0.56 percent, to 12,086.02. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 3.77 points, or 0.29 percent, to 1,297.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 14.43 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,698.30.

Australian miners may rise after copper prices climbed more than 2 percent on Wednesday to their highest level in two weeks, helped by the prospect of reconstruction efforts in Japan following the country's largest-ever earthquake.

Gold producers such as Newcrest Mining may also be boosted after gold rose to within a whisker of its all-time high on Wednesday, as record low US new home sales stirred talk of extended central banks' accommodative policies.

In early news, Westpac Banking Corp, Australia's third-largest lender, said on Thursday it was seeing early signs of improvement in asset quality with new stress slowing. The bank also said it has had a solid start in 2011 with good margins but its commercial property portfolio was declining.

Extract Resources may come under pressure after news state-owned China Guangdong Nuclear Power may cut its proposed 756 million pound ($1.2 billion) offer for uranium miner Kalahari Minerals in light of Japan's nuclear crisis, according to a CGNPC official. The prize in Kalahari is a 43 percent interest in Extract.