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Aussie share market closes lower

Xinhua, March 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Australian share market closed lower on Wednesday.

At 4:15 p.m. (AEDT), the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 24.3 points or 0.47 percent lower at 5,142.3, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 25.5 points or 0.49 percent at 5,205.3.

IG market strategist Evan Lucas told AAP on Wednesday investors are sitting on the sidelines ahead of the Easter break and amid a lack of economic data.

"It is a really slow day with trading volumes well below the daily average," Lucas said.

"It's a short week ahead of the long Easter weekend. People are moving away from their desks."

"There is also no major policy announcements to give people any conviction and all of that dries up trade volumes."

At the close, ANZ was down 0.39 percent, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia fell 0.27 percent, the National Australia Bank lost 1.98 percent, and Westpac fell 0.31 percent.

BHP Billiton lost 1.68 percent while rival Rio Tinto closed flat.

Oil Search fell 0.88 percent, Santos was down 0.76 percent while Woodside Petroleum lost 0.88 percent.

Wesfarmers gained 0.67 percent while rival Woolworths was up 1.4 percent.

Qantas closed flat while Telstra closed 0.38 percent lower. Endit