SYDNEY, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Australian shares are expected to take a positive lead from Wall Street and open higher on Friday, although investors may tread cautiously with the volatile Chinese share market on holiday.
Investors will also be closely watching the release of U.S. non-farm payroll data, which is widely being seen as the last major factor to help the Federal Reserve decide whether to raise interest rates.
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 20.0 points or 0.4 percent to 5,022.0, a 5.8-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark slumped 1.4 percent or 73.7 points to a 5,027.8 on Thursday, close to a two-year low.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 10.9 points or 0.2 percent to 5,558.8 in early trade.
For a summary of overnight action across global markets, double click on AU/CALL
For a digest of the day's business stories in Australian newspapers, double click on PRESS/AUB