Asian shares looked set for a muted open on Thursday following a decline in markets stateside as investors focused on the Federal Reserve’s latest statement.

U.S. stocks finished the day in negative territory after the Fed kept interest rates unchanged, a move that was widely expected, and acknowledged that inflation was starting to inch higher.

In its post-meeting statement, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee said “overall inflation and inflation for items other than food and energy have moved close to 2 percent.” That was an upgrade from its March meeting, when the committee noted that the indicators had “continued to run below 2 percent.”

Investors had been awaiting the Fed’s statement for clues on its outlook on inflation and the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average declined 0.72 percent, or 174.07 points, to end at 23,924.98, the S&P 500 lost 0.72 percent to 2,635.67 and the Nasdaq composite finished the session 0.42 percent lower at 7,100.90.

Over in Asia, futures tipped a subdued open for markets in Australia. SPI futures were little changed, last higher by 0.07 percent.

Markets in Japan will be closed on Thursday.

Trade will also be in focus as a U.S. delegation begins negotiations with their Chinese counterparts on Thursday and Friday in Beijing. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are among the U.S. officials participating in the meeting.

Earnings are also expected from a number of corporates in the region, including Hong Kong-listed Galaxy Entertainment.

Meanwhile, National Australia Bank announced on Thursday that its first-half cash profit declined 16 percent. Reuters said the fall came as the bank recorded costs associated with restructuring.

The dollar’s index, which tracks the U.S. currency against six major peers, initially dipped in reaction to the Fed’s statement, but later pared those losses. The dollar index last stood at 92.512 after rising as high as 92.834 in the previous session.

Against the yen, the dollar traded at 109.81 at 6:52 a.m. HK/SIN.

On the commodities front, oil prices finished the last session slightly higher despite a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. crude inventories. U.S. crude futures added 68 cents to settle at $67.93 per barrel and Brent crude futures for July delivery rose 23 cents to settle at $73.36.

Here’s the economic calendar for Thursday (all times in HK/SIN):

• 9:30 a.m.: Australia March trade data
• 3:00 p.m.: Turkey April PPI
• 4:30 p.m.: Hong Kong March retail data

— CNBC’s Jeff Cox and Yen Nee Lee contributed to this report.