SYDNEY, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set for a strong start on Monday tracking a bounce on Wall Street late last week.
Pointing to a firm opening, local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 1.9 percent to 4,785 to sit at a 19.7-point premium to the close of the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO on Friday.
The benchmark shed more than 4 percent last week, its second largest decline this year.
Global miner BHP Billiton (L:BLT) BHP.AX is expected to open around 6 percent higher after a gain in its U.S. ADRs BHP.N .
Earnings season is in full swing with Evolution Mining EVN.AX and Adelaide Bendigo Bank BEN.AX due to release results.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rallied 1.2 percent in early trade, bouncing off a four-month trough touched on Friday.
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