March 11 (Reuters) - Australian shares were expected to open higher on Thursday as easing inflation fears helped Wall Street and other global stocks gain and the U.S Congress approved a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 0.5%, a 34-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark closed 0.8% lower on Wednesday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.3% by 2120 GMT.