* S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fall overnight
* Investors eye the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting
* Energy stocks fall as oil prices slump
By Soumyajit Saha
March 17 (Reuters) - Australian shares opened lower on Wednesday after gaining for the past three sessions, as energy and mining stocks fell, and as Wall Street slid ahead of the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting later in the day.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO slipped 0.36% to 6,827.1 by 2330 GMT.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell overnight as investors looked to the results of the U.S. central bank's meeting amid fears about an overheating economy, although no major policy change is expected. .N individual sectors and stocks, miners .AXMM fell 1.2% as copper prices slumped after investors shed some bullish positions due to uncertainty ahead of central bank meetings. MET/L
Global miners BHP Group BHP.AX and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) RIO.AX were down 1.1% and 1.3%, respectively.
Energy stocks .AXEJ also declined as oil prices fell after some European countries halted the use of a major coronavirus vaccine, threatening the recovery of fuel demand. O/R
Oil & gas explorers Woodside Petroleum WPL.AX and Santos Ltd STO.AX were down 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively.
Gold stocks .AXGD snapped two straight sessions of gains to fall 1.5% as prices of the yellow metal weakened against a stronger dollar, with top gold miner Newcrest Mining NCM.AX down 1.3%. GOL/
The number of issues on the ASX that advanced were 506 while 600 declined.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 was unchanged in early trade, as gains among utility and energy stocks were offset by losses among financials.
Dairy exporter Fonterra on Wednesday reported a 43% surge in adjusted profit and said it would sell its joint venture farms in China. The company's stock was 0.2% lower.