Australian shares rose 0.9 per cent at the open on Thursday, bolstered by an extended bull market in New York, ahead of the Independence Day holiday on July 4.
Santos shares added 3.6 per cent to $7.96 after Bloomberg reported Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co have been separately studying potential bids for Santos, as the Middle Eastern energy giants seek to ramp up their gas investments overseas.
Ben Cleary a portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners said the proposed interest from Middle Eastern investors may face some obstacles.
"Santos' corporate appeal remains strong having one of the better LNG growth pipelines in the Asia region. The right of first refusal at an asset level means the only way to control Santos LNG assets is via the headstock," said Mr Cleary.
"And the Saudis will have to clear significant FIRB [foreign investor review board] issues one would imagine, but it highlights the lack of Tier 1 LNG projects in the Asia region and small concentration of owners outside of the large global exploration and production companies."
The best-performing sector is materials up 1.8 per cent, with the energy sector adding 1.3 per cent.
Overseas, the S&P 500 rose 0.5 per cent to 5537.02; the Nasdaq Composite was 0.9 per cent higher to 18,188.30. The two benchmarks each closed at record highs.
Stocks in focus
Shares in fund manager Magellan jumped 5.8 per cent after it flagged $19 million in performance fees and flat inflows for the month of June.
Gold miners Newmont and Evolution Mining both added more than 3 per cent as the gold price extended gains this week to fetch $US2357 an ounce.
Lendlease shares traded flat at $5.68 after the ACCC said it may oppose a deal it has to sell a small business operation to Stockland.

Sumber : afr.com