The S&P/ASX200 rose 11.9 points on Tuesday, up 0.14 per cent, to 8,537, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 23.8 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 8,824.2.
A sell-off in the banking sector all but wiped the progress from a solid day for raw materials and IT stocks, as traders mulled an expected uptick in October inflation figures due on Wednesday.
"Financials have come under pressure and driven that move down by lunchtime, which are thematic of people looking to offload positions, and then sit on their hands the rest of the day," Pepperstone head of research Chris Weston told AAP.
"But it's not an overly bullish sign that we couldn't sustain that high seen on the open."
The financial sector is down 7.3 per cent in November and is heading for its worst monthly drop since July 2022.
The Commonwealth Bank was the weakest of the big four, its shares slipping 1.2 per cent to $153.14 and trading a few cents shy of where they began 2025.Â
Bendigo Bank trailed the top 200, tumbling 7.3 per cent to $10.20, after revealing weaknesses in its money laundering and anti-terrorism controls uncovered in a Deloitte review.
The raw materials sector was the best of the bourse, up 1.7 per cent as large cap miners lifted along with iron ore futures, led by Fortescue (2.7 per cent) and Rio Tinto (2.3 per cent), while BHP rose one per cent.
ASX-listed gold miners regained their shine, with Evolution and Newmont up more than 3.5 per cent each as the precious metal traded around $US4,146 ($A6,423) an ounce.
Copper plays also rallied, with Sandfire and Capstone surging 2.2 per cent and 3.7 per cent, respectively.
Rare earths stocks garnered some interest in the morning, but it had faded by the close as Lynas trimmed its production forecasts in the wake of multiple power outages at its Kalgoorlie processing plant.
Liontown was the best of the lithium miners, up four per cent ahead of its annual meeting on Wednesday.
Energy stocks turned a morning slump into a 0.6 per cent boost by the close, with Woodside and Santos ending roughly flat despite continued pressure on oil prices.
Elsewhere in the sector, Whitehaven led coal producers higher as it continued its buyback program, and uranium plays continued to rebound after pulling back for much of November.
Healthcare's early lift withered to a 0.2 per cent gain by the time final trades were settled, as CSL slipped 0.4 per cent to $182.14, while Ramsay Health Care outshone the top 200 to rocket 12.7 per cent higher on a guidance upgrade.
Australia's tech sector rose 1.2 per cent, up for three of the past five sessions after sliding to seven-month lows a week earlier.
Tracking software provider Life360 was a stand-out, up 6.6 per cent and continuing its recovery from a recent dip, while financial software company Iress fell 5.9 per cent after pouring water on talks of a potential acquisition.
Droneshield shares rallied 14.6 per cent to $2 after announcing a $5.2 million contract with an unnamed European reseller, welcome news for shareholders weary from a run of troubling headlines.
Cryptocurrency Bitcoin has continued a tentative recovery to above $US88,000 ($A136,300), but is still down roughly 30 per cent since October, the sell-off driven by ETF outflows, leverage flush-outs and shifting risk sentiment in the tech sector.
The Australian dollar has been steady against the greenback, buying 64.58 US cents, down slightly from 64.63 US cents on Monday at 5pm.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 rose 11.9 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 8,537
* The broader All Ordinaries gained 23.8 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 8,824.2
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar trades for:
* 64.58 US cents, from 64.63 US cents at 5pm on Monday
* 101.23 Japanese yen, from 101.20 Japanese yen
* 56.08 euro cents, from 56.09 euro cents
* 49.29 British pence, from 49.33 British pence
* 115.29 NZ cents, from 115.29 NZ cents
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