Australian shares expected to open higher; NZ slightly up

Nov 22 (Reuters) - Australian shares are likely to open higher on Wednesday, taking their lead from a firmer finish on Wall Street, while strong metals prices should lift miners.

U.S. stock indexes hit record highs on Tuesday, led by gains in this year's top-performing technology sector.

Chinese rebar steel futures climbed almost 3 percent on Tuesday, gaining for a second straight day on tighter supply and expectations that demand from the world's top consumer would bounce back when production curbs are lifted after winter.

Local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 0.3 percent or 18 points to 5,996, a 32.5-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) close. The benchmark rose 0.3 percent on Tuesday.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) rose 0.05 percent or 4.340 points to 8,092.820 in early trade.



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