March 5 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to open higher on Thursday, tracking Wall Street gains, as former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's strong showing in the "Super Tuesday" primary contests boosted healthcare stocks and soothed investors' coronavirus concerns.
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 1.77%, a 109.6-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark fell 1.7% at a nine-month low on Wednesday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose about 1.8% in early trade.