march 8 reuters  australian shares were set to open flat on tuesday as gains in miners and energy stocks on skyrocketing commodity prices will likely offset a grim wall street session overnight with investors expected to remain on edge about a possible ban on russian oil imports by the us which could fuel inflationary pressures the local share price index futures fell about 03 but clawed back those losses to stay flat an 116point discount to the underlying spasx 200 index axjo close new zealands benchmark spnzx 50 index nz50 fell 06 at 1183949 in early trade reporting by savyata mishra in bengaluru editing by chris reese