Oct 18 (Reuters) - Australian shares were expected to edge lower in the morning session on Thursday, as the U.S. Fed's broad agreement on the need to raise borrowing costs further threatened to reignite the fears that sparked last week's sell-off.
Wall Street's major indexes edged lower after a choppy session on Wednesday after U.S. policymakers showed agreement on the September hike and general anticipation of further gradual increases. .N
Domestic energy shares .AXEJ were likely to bear the brunt of weakening global oil prices after U.S. crude stockpiles rose while exports dropped. O/R
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 slipped 0.4 percent, or 25 points, to 5,902, a 37.1-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index's .AXJO close. The benchmark rose 1.18 percent to 5939.10 on Wednesday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 inched up 2.69 points to 8,914.48 in early trade.