News

    April 19 (Reuters) - Australian shares are expected to open
higher on Monday and are on track to approach record levels,
after positive corporate earnings and upbeat economic data sent
Wall Street to fresh peaks on Friday.
    The local share price index futures          rose 0.5%, a
7.5-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index        
close. The benchmark ended largely unchanged on Friday.
    Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50
index         rose as much as 0.4% in early trade on Monday.

 (Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Daniel
Wallis)