Nov 29 (Reuters) - Australian shares are expected to open higher on Wednesday, taking their lead from a firmer finish on Wall Street, though the gains might be capped by a weakness in materials stocks.
U.S. stocks surged to record closing highs on Tuesday, led by bank stocks and boosted by progress on a tax cut bill, strong consumer confidence data and encouraging comments from President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Federal Reserve. .N
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 0.7 percent or 40 points to 6,029, a 44.7-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark fell 0.075 percent on Tuesday.
On the other hand, Chinese iron ore futures pulled back on Tuesday after eight days of gains, while nickel prices dropped to their lowest level in more than six weeks IRONORE/ MET/L .
Investor sentiment might also be affected by North Korea's latest missile launch, which landed close to Japan on Wednesday Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.1 percent or 8.950 points to 8,150.440 in early trade.