Dec 18 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set for a sharp fall on Tuesday, as Wall Street tumbled on concerns of slowing global growth ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's highly anticipated rate decision.
Wall Street's three major indices each slid more than 2 percent on Monday, with the benchmark S&P 500 closing at its lowest level in 14 months. .N
The Australian share price index futures YAPcm1 fell 1.6 percent, a 78.3-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close.
The benchmark had pared losses on Monday to end 1 percent higher.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.4 percent to 8,711.71 in early trade.