The Australian market looks set to open higher.

At 4.24am, the March share price index futures contract was up 11 points at 4268.

In economics news, The Australian Industry Group/Pricewaterhouse performance of manufacturing index for February is released as is the Reserve Bank of Australia's index of commodity prices for February.

Meanwhile, the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases Building approvals for January and Private New Capital Expenditure and Expected Expenditure, December quarter 2011 data.

In equities news, Woolworths posts first half results.

In Australia, the market on Wednesday closed higher, boosted by encouraging economic data from Japan and South Korea and slightly stronger retail sales data in Australia.

The S&P/ASX200 index rose 35.8 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 4298.5 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index lifted 36.9 points, or 0.85 per cent, to 4388.1 points.