April 19 (Reuters) - Australian shares are expected to open higher on Monday and are on track to approach record levels, after positive corporate earnings and upbeat economic data sent Wall Street to fresh peaks on Friday.
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 0.5%, a 7.5-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark ended largely unchanged on Friday.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose as much as 0.4% in early trade on Monday.