Australian shares were flat on Tuesday, with gains in commodity and banking stocks countered by losses in healthcare stocks as top biotech firm CSL slipped after forecasting lower-than-expected annual profit.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was unchanged at 7,814.9 by 0038 GMT.

The benchmark rose 0.5% on Monday.

A mixed bag of domestic corporate earnings and caution ahead of a key US inflation data release weighed on sentiment.

The S&P 500 index was mostly unchanged on Monday, while the Nasdaq gained 0.21% and the US Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.36%.

Back in Sydney, CSL, the country's priciest stock, fell more than 3% after the biotech giant forecasted fiscal 2025 statutory net profit after tax 5.5% below the Visible Alpha consensus estimate.

This dragged the larger health sub-index down 1.9%.

Gold stocks rose 2.8% aided by strength in the yellow metal, as investors raised hopes for a September rate cut from the US Federal Reserve.

Oil prices jumped on the prospect of a widening Middle East conflict, driving energy stocks 0.5% higher.

Brent crude futures fell 0.53% to $81.86 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude lost 0.57% to $79.60 per barrel.

Financial stocks rose 0.3%, extending their gains to a fourth straight session, while heavyweight mining stocks rose 0.4%.

Seek Ltd fell 8.8%, after the online employment marketplace company posted disappointing annual results and forecast.

Australian shares hit record high; RBA cautious on inflation

James Hardie warned of a challenging second quarter, sending the fibre cement maker's shares down more than 5%. In contrast, Challenger gained 5.8% after reporting better-than-expected annual profit.

Orora jumped 15% after the packaging products maker rejected a $2.25 billion takeover offer from private equity firm Lone Star.

The New Zealand benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.1% to 12,290.5.