Australian shares are set to open sharply lower on Friday, taking cues from a Wall Street sell-off, with local copper miners likely weighing as prices of the metal declined further.

The local share price index futures fell 1.6%, a 153.2-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark rose 1.88% on Thursday.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.6% to 13,193.74 points in early trade.