Australia shares set to open lower; NZ rises

Australian shares are set to open lower on Wednesday, as local energy and mining stocks are likely to fall on the back of weak commodity prices, coupled with concerns around rising COVID-19 cases in the state of New South Wales.

The local share price index futures fell 0.07%, a 94.2-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark rose 1.5% in the previous session.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.06% to 12,542.77 points in early trade.