Australia

Australian shares are set to open lower, after major US stock indexes were little changed ahead of the much expected start of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

ASX futures were down 0.47% or 39 points as of 8:00am on Wednesday, suggesting a lower open.

US stock indexes wobbled on the first day of the Federal Reserve's pivotal policy meeting, while traders kept lifting the chances of a supersize interest-rate cut.

Stocks were little changed after paring early gains. The Dow industrials and S&P 500 moved less than 0.1% on the day. The Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.2%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 1.3% to US$73.70 a barrel, while gold was up 0.1% to US$2,570.79.

The Australian dollar was at 67.55 US cents.

Asia

China markets were closed due to a public holiday.

Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 1.4% to 17,660.02.

Japanese shares closed lower. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.0% to 36,203.22.

India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX added 0.1% to 83,079.66.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index gained 0.4% to 8,309.86.

In Europe, shares closed higher. Germany's DAX rose 0.5% to 18,726.08, and France's CAC 40 added 0.5% to 7,487.42.

North America

U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA was unchanged at 41,606.18, the S&P 500 was flat at 5,634.58, and the Nasdaq rose 0.2% to 17,628.06.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Enphase Energy Inc, surging 6.31%, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co jumped 5.63%, and Moderna Inc lifted 4.08%.

The biggest decliners were Accenture PLC which dropped 4.82%, Edwards Lifesciences Corp fell 3.07%, and The Cigna Group lost 2.89%.