Australia shares poised to open lower on coronavirus fears

Australian shares were set to fall at
open on Friday, tracking a sharp sell-off on Wall Street, as
persisting worries over mounting cases of the coronavirus
outside China dented risk appetite.
The local share price index futures fell about
2.5%, a 145.7-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index
close. The benchmark closed 1.1% higher on Thursday.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index declined
about 2.4% in early trade.