Nov 26 (Reuters) - Australian shares were set to be little changed at the open on Thursday as a surprise jump in U.S. jobless claims amid a new round of COVID-19-induced shutdowns put the brakes on a global rally in equities that had been fuelled by vaccine optimism.
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 fell 0.06%, a 10.3-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark closed 0.6% higher on Wednesday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.1% to 12,680.77 by 2118 GMT.