US President Donald Trump directed aides on Friday to place US tariffs on about $200 billion more of Chinese goods, triggering new worries about a trade war between the world's biggest economies.

The local share price index futures rose 0.097 percent or 6 points to 6,180, a 14.7-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark rose 0.6 percent on Friday.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was down 0.21 percent at 2215 GMT.