Australian shares are set to fall on Thursday with investors likely to take a cautious stance following mixed cues on Wall Street, with weak iron ore and gold prices expected to weigh on miners.

The local share price index futures fell 0.54%, a 68.1-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close.

The benchmark closed above 7,000 points on Wednesday for the first time since late February last year.

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