Sept 17 (Reuters) - Australian shares are likely to open lower on Tuesday as investors react to heightened geopolitical risks following the weekend attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities.
The attack, which knocked out 5% of global crude output and sent oil prices up 15%, sparked fears of an oil shock on economic growth and a flight to safe haven assets including gold and U.S. Treasuries. local share price index futures YAPcm1 fell 0.24% to 6,661 points, a 12.5-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark rose marginally on Monday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.2% in early trade.