Jan 23 (Reuters) - Australian shares are likely to edge lower on Thursday, tracking Wall Street, which saw losses after the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest meeting showed many policymakers are of the view that an interest rate hike may come "fairly soon". [.N]
The minutes of the Jan. 31-Feb. 1 discussion, at which the U.S. central bank kept rates unchanged, also showed the depth of uncertainty at the Fed over the new Trump administration's economic programme.
Energy shares are expected to be under pressure as oil prices fell overnight on expectations of another surge in U.S. inventories. [O/R]
On the other hand, a weaker U.S. dollar will lift commodity prices, helping gold and copper stocks, while iron miners might gain as Chinese iron ore futures stayed near record highs. [GOL/] [FRX/][IRONORE/][MET/L]
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 fell 0.2 percent to 5,758 points, a 47.099-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) close. The benchmark rose 0.24 percent and snapped a three-day losing streak in the previous session.
Investors will be also looking out for earnings of companies like Qantas Airways (QAN), Alumina Ltd (AWC) and Ramsay Health Care (RHC).
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) was flat at 7,061.59 points in early trade.
