SYDNEY, April 19 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to gain on Tuesday, tracking a rise on Wall Street, with rising commodity prices likely to support natural resource stocks.
Global mining giant BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) BHP.AX is expected to open 3.2 percent higher based on the closing of its U.S. ADRs, while investors digested Rio Tinto's RIO.AX production report released earlier in the session.
Local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 1 percent to 5,182.0, which was a 44.9-point premium to the close of the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO on Monday. The benchmark fell 0.4 percent in the last session, but was still within sight of a peak of 5,216.2 touched last month.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 opened steady at 6,853.25 points, having touched a fresh record high of 6,855.39 on Monday.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ For a summary of overnight action across global markets, click on
AU/CALL For a digest of the day's business stories in Australian newspapers, click on
PRESS/AUB
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