A record high in the Dow Jones Industrial Average overnight has provided the conditions for prices on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) to start higher on Tuesday.
The ASX 200 index is expected to open 0.39% above the previous close, based on dealing in the March futures contract which last traded 34 points above the previous settlement at 8,750 points.
This followed a flat finish on the ASX on Monday as materials stocks defied an overall downward trend whereby nine of 11 sectors fell during the session.
The rising price of financial companies helped lift the Dow to an all-time peak on Monday while energy stocks jumped after a U.S. military strike captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday.
The Dow rose 1.23% on the first day of the week, the S&P 500 index added 0.64% and the Nasdaq put on 0.69% as investors expected the toppling of the Venezuelan leader would allow U.S. firms access to the world's largest oil reserves.
"Energy stocks are really benefiting from the expectation that President Trump is intending to send them in to do more investment in Venezuela and ultimately make more money for themselves," Bank Wealth Management senior investment strategist Rob Haworth was quoted in a Reuters story as saying.
The Australian sharemarket had closed flat on Monday with the ASX 200 ending at 8,728.60 points.
In fixed interest markets, Australian Government bond yields were unchanged at the time of writing with two year rates at 4.045% and 10 year rates at 4.769%.
