Australian shares are poised to rise on Thursday, tracking gains in global oil prices as renewed US-Iran military strikes stoked concerns over disruptions to crude supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

Investors are also watching softer US Treasury yields and a weaker dollar, which lifted gold prices, while awaiting US payrolls data for clues on the Federal Reserve's interest-rate path.

Overnight, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite each rose 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6%.

In the macroeconomy, Australia's services sector expanded for a third straight month in August, supported by stronger new orders, hiring and improving business confidence, even as rising fuel and wage costs pushed input price inflation higher, according to a monthly survey by S&P Global released Thursday.

In corporate news, Regis Healthcare (ASX:REG) said the Australian Government's 2.55% increase in the Australian National Aged Care Classification starting price to AU$303.19 from AU$295.64 per resident per day from Oct. 1 falls well short of sector cost inflation.

Vault Minerals (ASX:VAU) delivered group mineral resources of 12.1 million ounces of gold and ore reserves of 3.9 million ounces of gold as of June 30.

Australia's benchmark index fell nearly 1%, or 88.3 points, to close at 8,978.40 on Wednesday.