The Australian sharemarket traded slightly lower on Tuesday as renewed strikes in the Middle East pushed oil prices above US$91 a barrel, driving renewed inflation concerns.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 9.30 points, or 0.1%, to 9,066.7, with seven of the 11 sectors finishing in negative territory.
The Consumer Discretionary sector led the declines. JB Hi-Fi fell 0.5%, Domino's Pizza Enterprises lost 1.3%, Aristocrat Leisure dipped 0.7%, and Wesfarmers shed 3.0%.
The Telecommunications Services sector also weakened, with REA Group down 4.2%, SEEK falling 2.5% and CAR Group also declining 4.2%.
The moves followed modest losses on Wall Street overnight after U.S. forces struck an island in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran retaliated with attacks targeting the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, marking the first exchange of fire between the two sides in about a month.
Crude oil prices extended their gains after rising 2.8% in the previous session as renewed violence heightened concerns over potential supply disruptions.
Among individual companies, financial administration firm Computershare eased 0.1% after reporting statutory net profit after tax of US$618.7 million (A$863 million) for the year ended 30 June, an increase of 1.9% from a year earlier.
On the bond markets, Australian 10-year and two-year government bond yields each rose 0.9% to 5.152% and 4.772%, respectively.
