Australia shares were set to open flat on Friday as likely gains for the tech sector from a strong session for US peers could be countered by weakness in financial stocks.

The local share price index futures rose 0.1%, but were at a 4.2-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark had inched 0.1% higher on Thursday.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.2% to 12,774.25 points in early trade.