Australian shares are set to lift at the open after Republicans agreed on the details of a bill that will cut taxes for businesses and individuals. A vote on the bill is expected in the next few days and there is an expectation that President Donald Trump will sign it into law ahead of Christmas, securing his first legislative win as the sun sets on the first year of his presidency.

While the overall impact of the tax cuts on the US economy are seen as modestly positive at best, investors are continuing to position for an extended rally in stocks. All three major US benchmarks closed at record highs over the weekend and the US dollar advanced for the ninth time in 10 sessions. ASX futures were up 29 points or 0.5 per cent. The Australian dollar slipped 0.3 per cent to US76.46??.

Also bolstering optimism at the start of the week were gains in commodities and a bump in the London listed shares of Rio Tinto, up 1.7 per cent, and BHP Billiton, up 1.1 per cent. The spot price of iron ore rebounded 2.2 per cent, gold edged higher. In London trade, both copper and aluminium were higher.

The economic data schedule is going to lighten this week. That said, the federal government is poised to release its mid-year fiscal update today and the Reserve Bank will release minutes from the policy meeting it held earlier this month tomorrow.

The MYEFO "update is likely to show the budget deficit running a little better than forecast in May, with stronger global growth, better labour market outcomes and higher commodity prices more than offsetting slower wages and consumption growth", said NAB director of economics David de Garis.

Mr de Garis said the RBA minutes should reflect the "still positive economic momentum story for the local and global economy".

"A still improving trend in the economy, but with signs of a cooling housing market and subdued inflation running below target has kept the RBA on hold something we expect to continue until the second half of next year, when the unemployment rate will have dropped more noticeably," he said.

Capital Economics' Kate Hickie said she will be parsing the RBA minutes to see if "officials are getting more worried about the outlook for consumption".

In a look ahead to the first three months of 2018, HSBC struck a decidedly positive tone for Australia, seeing the economy expanding to 3.2 per cent in 2018 before easing to 2.8 per cent in 2019. It has a 2.4 per cent target for 2017.

"As mining investment stabilises, the housing construction boom, which has been helping to support growth, is also coming to its end. However, the mining decline was much larger than the boost from housing construction in recent years, so the net effect of this transition is expected to be positive for overall growth."

HSBC also said it sees the RBA lifting the cash rate from mid-2018 as improving conditions in the mining sector and a tightening labour market lead to "a modest pick-up in wage growth".

Key risks ahead, according to HSBC, is more sluggish than expected wage growth and inflation as well as a potential cooler housing market.

Finally, Australia's positive growth outlook remains highly dependent on ongoing strong growth in China. In particular, any pullback in Chinese household demand for Australian services, such as tourism and education, would present a considerable challenge to our growth forecasts," HSBC said.