Feb 4 (Reuters) - Australian shares are poised to rise on Monday, tracking Wall Street's strong performance on Friday as upbeat U.S. employment and manufacturing data lifted sentiment, while miners look set to benefit from firm iron ore prices.
Mining stocks will likely underpin gains and extend their rally to a sixth day after iron ore surged to a 22-month peak in the aftermath of Brazil's mining disaster, which prompted top iron ore miner Vale SA VALE3.SA to cut production. IRONORE/
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 0.4 percent or 20 points at 2107 GMT, a 41.8-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark closed little changed on Friday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.07 percent or 6.14 points to 8,993.03 in early trade.