April 16 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to extend gains for the fourth straight session on Friday, riding a wave of optimism fueled by a rally on Wall Street overnight and strong commodity prices.
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 0.2%, a 23.9-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark on Thursday closed within 1.5% of its all-time high in late-February last year.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.48% to 12697.29 points in early trade.