Australian shares were expected to climb on Friday, taking cues from a strong finish on Wall Street, with higher iron ore prices likely to boost domestic miners such as BHP Group and Rio Tinto Ltd.

The local share price index futures rose 1% or 69 points by 2133 GMT, a 0.5-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark fell 0.9% on Thursday.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.4% in early trade.