Australian shares are poised to open lower on Thursday as the new Omicron coronavirus variant continues to keep investors jittery, with surging inflation risks further adding to concern over earlier-than-expected tapering by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The local share price index futures fell 1.1%, a 75.9-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index (.AXJO) close. The benchmark fell 0.28% on Wednesday. New Zealand"s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (.NZ50) fell 0.15% in early trade.