SYDNEY, March 24 (Reuters) - Australian shares are poised to open lower on Thursday following a negative lead from Wall Street, with energy shares likely to be hit hard after a steep fall in oil prices.
Pointing to a lower open, share price index futures YAPcm1 fell 0.7 percent to 5,098.0, a 44.3-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO . The benchmark eased 0.5 percent on Wednesday.
Defying a weaker global environment, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 set a fresh all-time high of 6,692.08. It was last at 6,679.61, up 0.16 percent, or 10.74 points.
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