Jan 8 (Reuters) - Australian shares are likely to open higher on Friday as miners and energy stocks look set to benefit from strong commodity prices, while hopes for a domestic vaccine rollout in February further lift sentiment.
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 0.3%, but was at a 40-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark rose 1.6% on Thursday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.8% to a record high in early trade.