Thanks afternoon crew.
End-of-day summary:
Aussie shares took a step back as caution gripped financial markets in the countdown to tonight's US interest rate decision.
The ASX 200 declined 59 points or 0.67% to 8818.5.
Energy, tech and utilities were the only sectors to thrive as stocks trended lower for much of the session. Whitehaven Coal, Pilbara Minerals and Nuix were the day's best. Wesfarmers, Fortescue and NAB were the biggest drags among the heavyweights.
The Asia Dow and Japan's Nikkei 225 index were both flat in afternoon trade. The Shanghai Composite overcame early weakness to rise 0.33%.
US stocks eased overnight ahead of the announcement tonight of the Federal Reserve's updated benchmark rate. While a quarter-point cut is seen as a near-certainty, investors fear the Fed could push back against political pressure to slash rates several more times while inflation remains well above target. The S&P 500 dipped 0.13%.
