Australian shares are expected to open lower on Monday, tracking a subdued performance on Wall Street, while shares of local insurers are likely to face pressure as heavy rains over the weekend brought the worst flooding in half a century in some areas of the country, damaging property.

The local share price index futures fell 0.2%, a 15-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close.

The benchmark fell 0.6% on Friday.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.2% to 12,491.95 points in early trade.