June 15 (Reuters) - Australian shares are expected to open lower on Thursday, mirroring a dip in Wall Street after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates and crude oil prices slumped to their lowest close in seven months.
A slide in the technology sector weighed on the Nasdaq and S&P 500 as investors worried about the pace of economic growth after the rate increase and weaker-than-expected inflation data. oil prices fell nearly 4 percent, hit by an unexpectedly large build in gasoline inventories and an international outlook that suggests a big increase in supply in the coming year. O/R
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 fell 0.548 percent or 32 points to 5805, a 28.9-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark ended up 1.1 percent on Wednesday, its highest close in a month.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 inched up 0.1 percent in early trade.
For a summary of overnight action across global markets, double click on AU/CALL
For a digest of the day's business stories in Australian newspapers, double click on PRESS/AUB