Australian market set to open higher

THE Australian market looks set to open higher after Wall Street rallied after a hesitant start as oil prices surged towards their biggest gain this year.

Trader Fady Tanois works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. Energy stocks are leading another sell-off on Wall Street as the price of oil continues to plunge. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

THE Australian market looks set to open higher after Wall Street rallied after a hesitant start as oil prices surged towards their biggest gain this year and ECB president Mario Draghi raised hopes of further stimulus.

At 0645 AEDT on Friday, the share price index was up 17 points at 4,844 points.

The European Central Bank kept its main rates on hold and Draghi said the central bank would “review and possibly reconsider” its monetary policy as early as March.

Oil prices reversed course to trade up more than five per cent, just shy of $US30 a barrel, after US crude stockpiles did not rise as much as feared.

Locally, no major economic news is expected on Friday.

In equities news, ResMed is slated to post half-year financial results and Santos is expected to release its fourth quarter production report.

In Australia, the market on Thursday posted just its third gain for the year as bargain hunters snapped up high growth health and telecommunication stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 22.5 points, or 0.46 per cent, at 4,864 points.

The broader All Ordinaries index was up 20.7 points, or 0.42 per cent, at 4,917.6 points.