Australia stocks set to trade little changed; Fed keeps interest rates near zero

SINGAPORE — Stocks in Australia were set for a muted open on Thursday, as investors in Asia-Pacific react to the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to keep its easy money policy in place.

Futures pointed to a little changed start for Australian stocks. The SPI futures contract was at 7,059.0, against the S&P/ASX 200's last close at 7,064.70.

Investors will watch shares of Apple suppliers in Asia-Pacific after the Cupertino, California-based tech giant reported yet another blowout quarter, with sales 54% surging from last year.

Markets in Japan are closed on Thursday for a holiday.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday decided to leave short-term interest rates anchored near zero as it buys at least $120 billion of bonds each month.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the recovery is "uneven and far from complete." He added that it's still not time to discuss reducing policy accommodation, including asset purchases.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 closed less than 0.1% lower at 4,183.18 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the trading day 164.55 points lower at 33,820.38. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.28% to close at 14,051.03.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.609 after an earlier drop from above 90.9.

The Japanese yen traded at 108.53 per dollar, as compared to levels above 108.6 against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.78 following its climb yesterday from below $0.776.