Australian stocks fell 28 points or 0.3%, to 8,866 on Tuesday morning trade, unwinding the prior day rally as weaker U.S. equity futures weighed on sentiment following another sharp sell-off in chipmakers on Wall Street overnight.
Investors also grew cautious ahead of Australia’s June and Q2 inflation reports later this week, with sticky price pressures still a concern.
Meanwhile, Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock is due to speak later today while the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy rate decision also looms. Still, losses were partly contained after U.S. President Trump said Washington and Tehran were engaged in diplomatic talks to ease tensions.
Separately, Iran and Oman are trying to reach an agreement to restart shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Tech, non-energy minerals, and industrial services led declines.
The big four banks eased between 0.1% and 0.7%.
Heavyweights BHP Group fell 1.0%, along with Evolution Mining (-1.8%), Santos Ltd. (-1.3%), and Macquarie Group (-1.1%).