The Australian stock market is receiving a mostly positive set of leads from offshore trading, with Wall Street and base metals prices higher in afternoon trade.

But gold and oil prices were weaker.

At 0705 AEDT on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the March share price index contract was 23 points higher at 4,843 points.

In economics news, Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor for economics, Philip Lowe, is to speak at the Urban Development Institute National Congress at 0900 AEDT.

The Westpac/Melbourne Institute survey of consumer sentiment for February is scheduled for release, while the Australian Bureau of Statistics will publish housing finance data for January at 1130 AEDT.

Also, the Australian Office of Financial Management is to conduct a tender of $700 million worth of June 2014 Treasury bonds.

There is no company news scheduled for Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Australian share market recorded its eighth straight session of gains after stronger than expected economic indicators turned around early losses.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed up 12.2 points, or 0.25 per cent, at 4,820.1 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 9.7 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 4,829.3 points.