March 19 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to drop on Thursday as concerns about a coronavirus-induced recession are likely to eclipse supportive measures anticipated to be announced later by the country's central bank.
Markets widely expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut the cash rate to a new record low 0.25% and unveil quantitative easing, including buying government bonds.
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 fell 1.6%, a 119.2-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark dropped more than 6% on Wednesday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell nearly 1.8% in early trade.