SYDNEY: Australian shares may edge up at the open on Friday following a stronger close on Wall Street ahead of the US jobs report, but the market is set to post a fourth straight weekly fall.
* Local share price index futures added 0.1 percent to 4,786.0, a 4.8 point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. On Thursday, the benchmark fell 1.1 percent to a 4-1/2-month low to be down nearly 3 percent this week.
* New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.2 percent to 4,464.4 in early trade.
* US stocks rose on Thursday, with the Dow swinging nearly 200 points from its session low to high and the S&P 500 recovering after hitting a key technical level in volatile trading a day before the release of the US jobs report.
* Copper slid as much as 2 percent from a two-week high as comments from a Federal Reserve official heightened concerns the US central back might roll back its stimulus programme soon.
* Spot iron ore prices posted their biggest rise in eight months to hit one-week highs as Chinese mills replenished stockpiles ahead of holidays next week. But lean trading volumes suggest further price gains may be limited.
* The Australian dollar bounced off a 20-month low as the US dollar weakened on speculation of that non-farm payrolls report for May would be weaker than expected. The data, due at 1230 GMT, is forecast to show employment rose by around 170,000 last month. -Reuters
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