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SYDNEY, July 9 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed steady on Thursday after earlier slipping to their lowest level since January, as Chinese equity markets stemmed a rout - at least for now - thanks to a flurry of support measures from Beijing.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 1.472 points or 0.03 percent, to 5,471 at the close of trade, after falling as low as 5,383.7 in morning trading. The benchmark fell 2 percent on Wednesday. ID:nL3N0ZP1MB
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.52 percent or 30.26 points to finish the session at 5,737.440.