Australian shares finish flat as Fed meeting begins

The local share market has finished flat as the the US Federal Reserve kicked off a two-day meeting expected to culminate in another interest rate cut and an update on the path forward for rates in 2025.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Wednesday finished down 4.6 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 8,309.4, while the broader All Ordinaries closed completely unchanged at 8,558.6.

The Australian dollar had fallen to a fresh 13-month low against its US counterpart, buying 63.14 US cents, from 63.53 US cents at Tuesday's ASX close.