Australian shares were set to open higher on Monday, tracking gains on Wall Street, with sentiment likely to be buoyed by the further easing of domestic pandemic restrictions over the weekend.

New South Wales and South Australia states on Saturday allowed for some dancing and Victoria permitted larger crowds at sporting events.

The local share price index futures rose 0.4%, a 15.3-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close.

The benchmark closed 2.4% lower on Friday.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.4% by 2122 GMT after Auckland on Sunday imposed a second lockdown this past month, as authorities try to rein in a cluster of the more contagious UK variant.