Australian shares have bobbed around before easing slightly in a subdued trading session.
The S&P/ASX200 ended Tuesday down 6.4 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 8,151.4, as the broader All Ordinaries fell 4.7 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 8,369.3.
"The quiet session follows a subdued and low-volume day on Wall Street, where the market's winning streak ended as ongoing trade tensions overshadowed strong economic data ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate meeting on Thursday morning," IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore said.
Sectors were mixed, with financials down almost two per cent in as many days thanks to a sell-off of three of the big four banks after Westpac's underwhelming half-year results on Monday.
NAB will post its first-half results on Wednesday.
A 0.6 per cent lift in the materials sector helped balance the bourse, as goldminers crowded the top-200's best performers list thanks to the safe haven resuming its uptrend.
Gold futures are on the rise and roughly four per cent shy of their $US3,500 peak per ounce.
A rebound in oil prices from a technical support level helped push energy stocks 0.8 per cent higher, offering some relief to crude supply hike announcements from OPEC+ countries and worries about trade war impacts on demand from top importer China.
Brent crude futures were trading at $US61.35 after briefly dipping below the $US60 level on Monday morning.
Healthcare stocks underperformed the broader market, down 1.9 per cent as a slump of more than six per cent slump in Sigma Healthcare pushed the sector lower, after the company copped $42.4 million in transaction costs in nine months.
Biotech CSL lost 2.5 per cent to trade at $250.47 after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to boost local drug manufacturing ahead of planned pharmaceuticals tariffs.
At Macquarie's annual conference on Tuesday, CSL's chief financial officer Joy Linton also noted "negative sentiment towards vaccinations from the US administration".
IT stocks rose a modest 0.3 per cent as WiseTech admitted US tariffs were likely to impact the logistics technology play, while NextDC beat the top-200 with an 8.8 per cent rally after its contract utilisation jumped by almost one-third in the first quarter.
The Australian dollar is buying 64.58 US cents, down slightly from 64.69 US cents on Monday at 5pm.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Tuesday down 6.4 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 8151.4
* The broader All Ordinaries fell 4.7 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 8,369.3
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 64.58 US cents, from 64.69 US cents on Monday at 5pm
* 92.77 Japanese yen, from 93.37 Japanese yen
* 56.98 Euro cents, from 57.13 Euro cents
* 48.52 British pence, from 48.73 pence
* 107.97 NZ cents, from 108.36 NZ cents
