Australian shares fell on Tuesday, after a sell-off in tech stocks dragged Wall Street, though managed to pare majority of the losses as financials and miners notched surprise gains late in the day. Global stocks shuddered after US tech stocks came under heavy selling on Monday, burdened by worries on slackening demand, while conflicting signals between the United States and China on their trade dispute added to caution.
The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.38 pct or 21.90 points to 5,671.80 at the close. On Monday, the benchmark dropped 0.6 percent. The technology index tumbled 3 percent, with sector heavyweights Computershare Ltd and Xero Ltd down 1.6 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.
Australia's healthcare sector, which has large exposure to US markets, recorded steep losses. CSL Ltd slumped 3.6 percent and Ramsay Health Care Ltd slipped 0.9 percent. Meanwhile, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.83 percent or 72.63 points to finish the session at 8,720.30.