Australian shares were poised to open lower on Friday as rising global COVID-19 cases stoked fears of a long-drawn economic recovery, while concerns over the results of one potential vaccine also dampened sentiment.

British drugmaker AstraZeneca AZN.L said it would likely run an additional global trial to assess the efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine using a lower dosage amid questions over the results from its late-stage study, according to a Bloomberg News report. local share price index futures YAPcm1 fell 0.3%, a 12.4-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark fell 0.7% on Thursday.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 was trading flat at 12,607.62 by 2114 GMT.

Reference by: Investing.com