Australian shares close lower on Wall Street falls

Share prices closed sharply lower following falls offshore with a slump by AMP and heavy selling in blue chips News Corp, major banks and resources, dealers said.

The S&P/ASX 200 closed down 45.4 points or 1.48% at 3,027.2, off a high of 3,067.0 and a low of 3,022.6, while the All Ordinaries was down 43.8 points at 2,993.4.