8@eight: Stocks to open flat after Fed sparks late Wall Street selloff

The Australian sharemarket is set to open flat, with S&P/ASX 200 futures giving up most of their gains as the US sharemarket turned negative in the final hour of trading.

Wall Street assessed the Federal Reserve's signal that it's in no rush to raise rates even as inflation rises to its target, sparking inflation concerns. The US central bank left interest rates unchanged, but kept the door open for a rate rise in June.

Aussie Dollar: The Australian dollar has followed Wall Street lower after the US Federal Reserve indicated that it is on track to raise its interest rate at its next policy meeting in June.

At 6:35 am AEST on Thursday, the local currency was worth 74.86 US cents, down from 75.11 US cents on Wednesday. Currency traders are now looking to upcoming economic data such as March trade figures and service sector PMIs for April. 

Australian shares: The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6 per cent to 6,050 on Wednesday, powered by Qantas Airways. The nation's biggest airline joined the global earnings party after forecasting record annual profit and excited investors with the order of six new 787 Dreamliners.

Twenty stocks hit 52-week highs during Wednesday's session, with only two hitting 52-week lows.

In economics news on Thursday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases building approvals figures for March, and international trade data, also for March. 

On the companies side, National Australia Bank releases its half year results, and QBE Insurance and Santos hold their annual general meetings.