Jan 18 (Reuters) - Australian shares look set to rise on Tuesday as investor sentiment remained generally positive with the U.S. market closed for a holiday, while local energy stocks are expected to gain on strong prices. The local share price index futures rose 0.3%, a 74.3-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index (.AXJO) close. The benchmark settled 0.3% higher in the last session. New Zealand"s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (.NZ50) down nearly 0.2% at 12783.1 points by 2140 GMT.