[BENGALURU] Australian shares fell in low-volume trade on Tuesday, weighed by banking stocks, as investors held off making big bets ahead of major corporate earnings due later in the week.
The S&P/ASX 200 index settled down 0.86 per cent at 6,821.2 points, halting two days of gains, with trading volumes at about half of the 30-day average during most of the session. Earnings from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the country's biggest lender are due on Wednesday, while Newcrest Mining, Australia's biggest gold miner by market cap, and AGL Energy, the biggest power retailer in the country, will report results later in the week.
In a bright spot, asset manager Macquarie Group jumped nearly 7 per cent and was the biggest percentage gainer on the benchmark after the company reported that third-quarter profit from its commodities trading and dealmaking units rose sharply. However, its gains failed to prop up the broader financial sub-index which closed 0.7 per cent lower. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and Bank of Queensland were among the top drags on the sector.