June 28 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to open lower
on Thursday, tracking Wall Street, but higher energy stocks
backed by robust oil prices are expected to cap losses.
Oil prices jumped on Wednesday as plunging U.S. crude
stockpiles compounded supply worries in a market already
uncertain about Libyan exports, a production disruption in
Canada and Washington's demands that importers stop buying
Iranian crude from November.
The local share price index futures fell 0.18 pct
or 11 points to 6,127, a 69.9-point discount to the underlying
S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark remained largely
unchanged on Wednesday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index climbed 0.1
pct at 2216 GMT after the country's central bank held the
official cash rate at a record low of 1.75 percent, saying it
would keep monetary conditions expansionary for a considerable
period of time.
(Reporting by Mensholong Lepcha; editing by Diane Craft)
