Nov 20 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to open higher on Friday, likely led by a rise in heavyweight iron ore mining stocks on surging prices of the commodity, although gains may be capped amid rising worries over surging COVID-19 cases and lockdowns.
Benchmark Dalian and Singapore iron ore futures jumped to contract highs on Thursday, driven by concerns about supply of the steelmaking raw material from Australia and optimism around demand as steel prices picked up in China. sentiment may be subdued, however, as Asian markets take stock of a lacklustre session on Wall Street driven by bleak jobs data and mounting worries of shutdowns in the United States amid surging coronavirus cases. local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 0.4% or 25 points, a 15.8-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark rose 0.2% on Thursday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.2% by 2129 GMT.