Australian shares were seen opening marginally lower on Wednesday as investors assessed risks to swift further stimulus from the United States and remained cautious ahead of the upcoming corporate earnings season.

The local share price index futures fell 0.1%, a 69.1-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark fell 0.3% on Tuesday.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.2% to 13,207.08 points in early trade.