Aussie share market closes lower

The Australian share market closed lower on Wednesday amid fears Britain will leave the European Union.

At 4:15 p.m. (AEST), the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 56.2 points or 1.08 percent at 5,147.1, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 52.1 points, or 0.99 percent, at 5,230.4 points.

OptionsXpress analyst Ben Le Brun told AAP on Wednesday the Australian bourse was a barometer for risk sentiment across the globe.

"Risk sentiment is somewhere in the gutter at the moment so obviously we bear the brunt of a lot of the selling pressure that's exerted onto equity markets," Le Brun said.

"Until we get some clarity around this Brexit or see some polls that suggest they're going to stay in, it's probably going to be slim pickings in terms of good performances for the ASX200."

At the close, ANZ lost 1.82 percent, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia was down 1.80 percent, the National Australia Bank fell 1.92 percent, and Westpac was down 2.33 percent.

BHP Billiton lost 2.09 percent, rival Rio Tinto was down 1.17 percent while gold miner Newcrest closed the day 2.88 percent lower.

Oil Search was down 0.45 percent, Santos gained 0.68 percent and Woodside Petroleum closed the day 0.38 percent lower.

Wesfarmers gained 0.05 percent while Woolworths was down 0.66 percent.

Qantas closed the day 0.35 percent higher, while Telstra closed the day 1.31 percent lower. Endit