Jan 6 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to extend losses on Thursday, tracking sharp losses on Wall Street after minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated that it may raise interest rates sooner than expected and reduce asset holdings to tame high inflation. The local share price index futures fell 0.8%, a 145.8-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index (.AXJO) close. The benchmark settled 0.3% lower on Wednesday. New Zealand"s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (.NZ50) fell 0.2% in early trading.