May 19 (Reuters) - Australian shares were set to rise at open on Tuesday, following an overnight surge on Wall Street, as encouraging data from a potential coronavirus vaccine and hopes for further economic stimulus whetted risk appetite.
Drugmaker Moderna Inc MRNA.O said its experimental COVID-19 vaccine showed promising results in a small early-stage trial. local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 2% or 109 points, a 132.5-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark rose 1.03% on Monday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 was up 1.1% at 2217 GMT.