Australian shares are expected to open little changed on Thursday with a weak finish on Wall Street and lower commodity prices weighing on sentiment.

The local share price index futures ticked up 0.1%, a 0.3-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close.

The benchmark shed 1.9% on Wednesday, its lowest close in six-weeks.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.3% to 12,312.75 in early trading.