Australian shares set to track Wall Street higher

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open higher after major indices on Wall Street posted solid gains on hopes the US Federal Reserve is done with its rate hikes.

The numbers: The Dow Jones index advanced 0.45% overnight, while the broader S&P 500 gained 0.61% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended 0.68% higher. In the local market, ASX 200 futures were trading 30 points or 0.42% higher at 7102 points at 0700 AEDT on Wednesday.

The context: Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq touched three-week highs as dovish comments from Fed officials pushed Treasury yields lower. Traders put the chance of interest rates remaining unchanged in November and December at around 86% and 73%, respectively, according to CME's FedWatch tool. While oil prices eased after Monday's rally, traders were still closely monitoring developments in the Middle East. In the local market, investors will be focused on a speech by RBA assistant governor Christopher Kent.