Jan 3 (Reuters) - Australian shares were set to open lower on Wednesday, likely dragged by energy stocks on the back of softer oil prices, while investors lost some of their risk-appetite after markets tempered expectations around the timeline of U.S. interest rate cuts.
The local share price index futures fell 1%, a 88.8-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark rose 0.5% on Tuesday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index inched 0.2% lower. (Reporting by Aaditya Govind Rao in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)
