Jan 30 (Reuters) - Australian shares inched higher on Thursday, led by gains in commodity and technology stocks, while the U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged as widely expected and gave little clues about further reductions in borrowing costs this year.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.2% to 8,465.5 by 2354 GMT. The benchmark gained 0.6% on Wednesday as a surprisingly soft inflation report opened the door to a cut in interest rates as early as next month.

"With Aussie inflation nearing the RBA's target, traders are pricing in a 91% chance of a 0.25% rate cut," said Jessica Amir, a market strategist at trading platform moomoo.

Fed officials made a unanimous decision to keep the overnight interest rate in the current 4.25%-4.50% range, putting the central bank in a holding pattern as they await further inflation and jobs data and clarity on the impact of President Donald Trump's policies.

In Sydney, energy stocks .AXEJ rose as much as 1.3%, even after oil prices settled lower overnight. O/R

Sector major Woodside Energy WDS.AX rose as much as 1.3%, while oil and gas explorer Karoon Energy KAR.AX gained 5.3% and was the top gainer on the benchmark index after it reported strong quarterly sales volumes and announced a share buyback programme.

Gold stocks .AXGD gained as much as 0.6%, even after bullion prices slipped overnight. GOL/

Miners .AXMM climbed as much 0.6%, with BHP Group BHP.AX, Rio Tinto RIO.AX and Fortescue FMG.AX gaining between 0.3% and 0.6%.

Technology stocks .AXIJ rose for a second straight session and were last up 0.4%. Overnight, the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 0.31%, the S&P 500 .SPX declined 0.47% and the Nasdaq .IXIC lost 0.51%.

Among individual stocks, Zip Co ZIP.AX fell 19.6% and was on track for its worst session in more than 2-1/2 years after the buy-now-pay-later firm's second-quarter earnings failed to meet key expectations.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 inched lower by 0.2% to 12,976.13.

(Reporting by Sherin Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

((Sherin.Sunny@thomsonreuters.com))

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