Australia shares seen opening lower, NZ sets fresh high

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 fell 0.7 percent to 5,098.0, a 44.3-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index. The benchmark eased 0.5 percent on Wednesday. Defying a weaker global environment, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index set a fresh all-time hig