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Wall Street surged to record highs on Thursday on the back of rising oil prices and as investors bet on a strong US corporate earnings season. Oil settled at three-year highs on signs that global inventories were tightening.
The local share price index futures rose 0.3 percent or 17 points to 6,030, a 37.6-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark fell 0.5 percent on Thursday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index inched 0.2 percent higher in early trade.