Australia shares to climb on China hopes, NZ flat
MELBOURNE, March 21 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to open higher on Monday after leaders in China, Australia's top trade partner, said over the weekend the economy was showing signs of improvement. Ahead of those comments, local share price index futures rose 0.6 percent to 5,193.0, a 9.9-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark closed up 0.3 percent on Friday after touching a 10-week high. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was steady in ear