Australian shares ended flat with a negative bias on Thursday, tracking Wall Street markets, as investors await the US Federal Reserve decision on interest rates.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index was little changed to close at 8,151.4.

Markets are eyeing Wednesday's Fed decision as investors trim rate-cut bets amid trade-driven volatility, giving Powell room to hold rates, Bloomberg reported.

"We believe that the longer policy uncertainty persists, the greater the potential hit to economic activity," said Invesco's Global Market Strategy Office.

On the domestic front, the seasonally adjusted number of approved dwellings in Australia declined 8.8% month on month to 15,220 in March, following a 0.3% fall in February, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.

Australia's household spending bucked five straight months of growth after declining 0.3% in March, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported.

Australian households are experiencing increased confidence in their personal finances and economic conditions, with consumer confidence rising by 4.1 points between April 28 and May 4, reaching 87.5 points, according to a report by ANZ Research and Roy Morgan.

In company news, Nextdc (ASX:NXT) said its pro forma contracted utilization rose 30% to 228 megawatts (MW) as of March 31, driven by artificial intelligence-related customer wins, particularly in Victoria, which now accounts for 114 MW. Shares rose 8% at market close.

Platinum Investment Management (ASX:PTM) reported total funds under management of AU$9.65 billion as of April 30, down from AU$10.28 billion as of March 31. Shares of the company fell 7% on market close.

Lastly, Sigma Healthcare (ASX:SIG) said that growth in its normalized earnings before taxes and interest (EBIT) for the nine months to March 31 was broadly consistent with Chemist Warehouse Group's reported 36% increase in normalized EBIT in the fiscal first half. Shares of the company fell 7% at market close.