Oct 17 (Reuters) - Australian shares are poised to open lower on Monday, following Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's comments on the U.S. economy that kept investors on the sidelines.
Yellen, at a lunch address in Boston on Friday expressed concerns of a weakening U.S. economic potential and said that aggressive steps may be needed to rebuild it, adding the Fed may need to run a "high-pressure economy" to reverse damage from the 2008-2009 crisis. local share price index futures YAPcm1 dipped 0.2 percent to 5,406 at a 28-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark ended 0.03 percent lower on Friday, at 5,434.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 edged down 0.3 percent or 20.35 points to 7,112.78 in early trade.
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