(Reuters) - Australian shares are expected to open higher on Thursday, tracking a rise in Wall Street following a widely expected interest rate hike in the United States.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, as anticipated.
The local share price index futures <YAPcm1> rose 21 points to 6048.0, a 26.2-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> close. The benchmark rose 0.14 percent on Wednesday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> fell marginally in early trade.
(Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
