Jan 31 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set extend losses on Wednesday following an underwhelming lead-in from Wall Street, while a fall in commodities prices could lead to a weakness in materials stocks.
U.S. stocks registered a second straight day of losses on Tuesday as healthcare stocks and rising bond yields weighed on all three major U.S. indexes. .N
Meanwhile, Chinese iron ore futures ticked higher, but kept near one-month lows on Tuesday. IRONORE/
Local investors might also exercise caution ahead of release of inflation data later in the day.
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 fell 19 points or 0.3 percent to 5,941, a 81.8-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark fell 0.9 percent on Tuesday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.4 percent or 34.430 points to 8,264.150 in early trade.