Jan 8 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to tick up on Tuesday, tracking an extended Wall Street rally, underpinned by optimism about trade talks between Beijing and Washington.
Officials from the two countries met in Beijing for the first face-to-face talks since U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed in December to a 90-day truce. MKTS/GLOB
The meeting soothed concerns about a damaging trade war and propelled U.S. stocks higher for a second straight day. .N
Australian share price index futures YAPcm1 firmed 0.2 percent or 9 points to 5,640 by 2100 GMT, a 43.2-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark climbed 1.1 percent on Monday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 edged 0.07 percent lower to 8,799.65 in early trade.