Jan 17 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to slide for a second straight session on Wednesday, with material and energy stocks leading the losses on a drop in base metal and oil prices.
Base metals slipped on Tuesday with copper and nickel hitting multi-week lows as a steadier dollar weighed, while oil fell as Brent crude oil shed some of its recent gains. MET/L O/R
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 fell 0.5 percent, or 31 points, to 5961, an 87.6-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark closed down 0.5 percent on Tuesday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.3 percent in early trade.