Australia shares likely to open lower on domestic virus concerns

Australian shares are likely to open marginally lower on Wednesday, on concerns that a Sydney coronavirus cluster may have spread to regional areas, although strong commodity prices will likely lend weight to miners and energy stocks.

The local share price index futures was down 0.1%, an 89.9-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close.

The benchmark closed flat on Tuesday.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was slightly higher in early trade.