Australian shares are projected to open lower on Friday as an overnight tumble in Wall Street's tech-focused Nasdaq index is expected to weigh on local tech stocks.

The local share price index futures inched up 0.1% but remained at an 89.7-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index last close. The benchmark lost 0.4% on Thursday.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.08% in early trade.