Steven Deare
(Australian Associated Press)

 

Energy shares provided spark but the Australian market was otherwise sluggish and eased lower.

Energy shares were the standout category on Wednesday as investors discounted US efforts to reduce oil prices by releasing supply from reserves.

Most share categories including the heavyweight financial and materials lost less than half a per cent.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 11.2 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 7399.4 points.

The All Ordinaries closed lower by 16.2 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 7725.5 points.

The Australian dollar was buying 72.10 US cents at 1620 AEDT, lower from 72.22 US cents at Tuesday’s close.