Australia shares seen flat; miners may support

SYDNEY, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Australian stocks are set to open little changed on Wednesday, finding some support from miners after a rise in gold and copper prices. Banks, the market's biggest sector, will be in focus after Westpac Banking Corp <WBC.AX>, reported a full-year cash profit just ahead of analysts' forecasts and said bad debts have peaked (see [ID:nSYD253066]).

Share price index futures for December inched up 0.3 percent to 4,530, little changed from the close in the underlying S&P/ASX 200 <.AXJO> on Tuesday.

Some caution may prevail in the market ahead of the conclusion of a two-day U.S. Federal Reserve policy-setting meeting.

In Australia, investors will get trading updates from the world's biggest mining contractor, Leighton Holdings <LEI.AX>, and soft drinks maker Coca-Cola Amatil <CCL.AX>.

Telecoms firm Telstra Corp <TLS.AX> holds its annual meeting, with the focus likely to be on a pay-out to its former chief executive and its struggle to get a fair price from the Australian government for handing its network over to a state broadband project.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index <.NZ50> fell 0.23 percent to 3,151.3 in early trade. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2114 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 <.SPX> 1045.41 0.24% 2.530 USD/JPY 90.33 0.06% 0.050 10-YR US TSY YLD 3.4727 -- 0.049 SPOT GOLD 1084.75 2.42% 25.600 US CRUDE 79.47 1.72% 1.340 DOW JONES <.DJI> 9771.91 -0.18% -17.53 ASIA ADRS <.BKAS> 120.04 -0.06% -0.07 ------------------------------------------------------------- * S&P and Nasdaq end higher as deal news helps [.N] * Oil rises 2 pct on U.S. factory data, gold surge [O/R] * Gold sweeps to record high above $1,080 [GOL/] * Copper ends little changed ahead of Fed decision [MET/L]

For a digest of the day's business stories in Australian newspapers, double click on [PRESS/AUB] ($1=1.108 Australian Dollar)