Futures point to a 0.2 rise in the ASX at the open; oil traders brace for more US strikes after container ship hit in Strait of Hormuz. Follow live updates here.

Traders are hoping that a fresh year will reinvigorate the local bourse, as they stare down fresh hostilities in the Middle East and Wall Street’s AI jitters.

The Australian sharemarket has opened in positive territory on reports the US and Iran backed away from a fresh escalation that had threatened the fragile ceasefire underpinning…