Australia shares set to rise tracking Wall Street, NZ firms

FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians are reflected in a window displaying stock prices at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in Sydney, Australia, February 13, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray

(Reuters) – Australian shares are expected to edge higher on Friday, tracking their Wall Street peers, as progress in U.S. stimulus talks gave a dose of optimism to markets.

The local share price index futures rose 0.1%, a 0.2-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark fell 0.3% on Thursday.

New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.1% in early trade.

Reporting by Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese

source: reuters.com