Australian shares closed lower on Tuesday, extending losses into a third consecutive session as investors remained cautious ahead of the federal budget announcement later in the evening.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 31.10 points, or 0.4%, to close at 8,670.7, with nine of the market’s 11 sectors finishing in negative territory.
Technology stocks led the declines, as Xero dropped 3.5%, WiseTech Global lost 5.9% and TechnologyOne slipped 0.8%.
Life360 plunged 10.9% after downgrading its user growth guidance for the current financial year, with the company attributing the weaker outlook to a technical issue that reduced new user additions.
Consumer staples shares also weakened, with Woolworths falling 1.7%, Coles declining 2.6% and Treasury Wine Estates losing 3.2%.
Healthcare stocks remained under pressure following CSL’s sharp decline in the previous session.
CSL fell a further 2.2% after suffering its second-largest one-day drop on record on Monday, when the stock plunged 16% following a profit downgrade.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare lost 2.8%, Pro Medicus fell 2.8% and ResMed dropped 3.4%.
In contrast, mining stocks provided support to the market as investors rotated into materials companies amid stronger commodity prices.
BHP and Rio Tinto both climbed to fresh record highs, rising 2.5% and 3.1%, respectively, while Fortescue added 2.3%.
Energy shares also gained as oil prices moved higher following renewed uncertainty surrounding the ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
Santos rose 0.5% and Woodside Energy gained 0.8%.
Among individual companies, DroneShield tumbled 9.9% after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) launched an investigation into the company.
The defence technology company said ASIC had requested reasonable assistance in connection with an investigation being conducted under the Corporations Act.
DroneShield stated that it would “cooperate fully with the investigation regarding announcements and information provided to the Australian Securities Exchange between 1 and 20 November 2025, and trading in Droneshield shares between 6 and 12 November 2025”.
On the bond markets, Australia’s 10-year government bond yield rose 0.5% to 5.037%, while the 2-year yield eased 0.6% to 4.74%.
