Australia shares fall as banks, tech stocks weigh

Australian shares fell on Tuesday, with losses in technology and financial stocks outweighing gains in the mining sector as iron ore prices and gold prices firmed.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.27% to 7,026.5 points by 0027 GMT.

The top percentage gainer on the benchmark was Bingo Industries Ltd, up 6.7%, after the waste management firm agreed to be bought by Macquarie Group for A$2.3 billion ($1.79 billion).

Bingo shares were also the most heavily traded shares by volume.

Shares of Australian betting firm Tabcorp Holdings rose nearly 4% after UK's Entain proposed a $2.7 billion buyout of its wagering and media arm.

The top percentage losers on the benchmark were Mesoblast Ltd, down 3.19%, followed by Adbri Ltd, losing 2.69%.

Among sectors, financial stocks fell 0.44%, led by Zip Co Ltd, down 2.22%, and AMP Ltd, losing 1.75%.

Technology stocks fell 0.12%, led by Appen Ltd , down 0.97%, and Afterpay Ltd, losing 0.47%.

Mining stocks rose 0.43%, led by Piedmont Lithium Ltd, up 6.82%, while gold stocks rose 0.21%.

The energy index fell 0.23?,% led by Origin Energy Ltd, down 1.2%, and Beach Energy Ltd, losing 0.91%.

In other markets, Japan's Nikkei was down 0.04% at 29114.76.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.11% to 12,636.7.

The top percentage losers were A2 Milk Company Ltd, down 3.8%, and Fletcher Building Ltd , losing 1.51%.