(Reuters) - Australian shares are seen edging higher at open on Thursday before the release of October trade balance data later in the session.
A Reuters poll sees it posting a surplus of A$1.38 billion in October.
Energy stocks, however, may face some pressure due to weakness in oil. [O/R]
The local share price index futures <YAPcm1> was up 0.27 percent, or 16 points at 5,967, a 21.3-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> close. The benchmark ended Wednesday down 0.4 percent.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> was up 0.2 percent, or 14.67 points, to 8,145.53 at 2106 GMT after posting three straight losing sessions.
(Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru)
