The Australian share market has closed slightly lower after failing to sustain a morning push into record territory despite the release of dovish Reserve Bank minutes.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index early on Tuesday hit a record intraday high of 7,910.5, building on Thursday's record close, but finished down 8.9 points at 7,887.9 - a drop of 0.11 per cent.
The broader All Ordinaries fell 7.9 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 8,145.8.
Traders were digesting the release of Reserve Bank minutes that seemed to indicate that board members did not discuss raising rates at their March meeting for the first time since April 2022.
Commonwealth Bank economist Gareth Aird called the minutes "the most dovish piece of communication from the board since the RBA commenced its tightening cycle in May 2022".
Overseas, an Israeli air strike in Damascus killed seven Iranian military advisers, raising fears the fighting might spread further and leading oil prices to spike to a five-month high.
Eight of the ASX's 11 sectors finished lower and three finished higher.
Materials was the biggest gainer, rising 1.1 per cent as BHP climbed 1.9 per cent to $45.13 and Rio Tinto added 0.7 per cent to $122.59, while Fortescue dipped 1.1 per cent to $25.42.
The 10 biggest gainers on the ASX200 were all gold miners and uranium companies amid soaring prices for both commodities.
Gold changed hands for a record high of more than $US2,255 an ounce after softer US inflation data on Friday cemented bets that the Federal Reserve would cut rates in June.
West Africa Resources rose 6.3 per cent to a one-year high of $1.275, Evolution added 6.3 per cent to a two-and-a-half month high of $1.275 and Newmont rose 4.9 per cent to $56.35.
Gold Road Resources even climbed 4.4 per cent to $1.65 despite announcing heavy March rainfall had reduced production at its Gruyere gold mine in WA.
In the energy sector, uranium miners were doing well as prices for the nuclear fuel rebounded to $US88.50 a pound and an Australian-owned mine in Africa restarted production.
Boss Energy climbed 3.8 per cent to $4.95, Deep Yellow finished three per cent higher and Paladin rose 4.7 per cent to an almost all-time high of $1.435 after announcing that production had begun at its Langer Heinrich uranium mine in Namibia.
In energy, Whitehaven Coal finished flat at $7.10 as it completed its $5 billion acquisition of two coking coalmines in Queensland from BHP and Mitsubishi, effectively doubling the size of its business.
In finance, the Big Four banks mostly had a quiet day.
NAB rose 0.5 per cent to $34.82, ANZ and Westpac were both flat, at $29.39 and $26.11 respectively, and CBA dipped 0.2 per cent to $120.07.
In the consumer discretionary sector, Treasury Wine Estates grew by 2.7 per cent to $12.79 following China's announcement late Thursday that it had dropped its tariffs on Australian wine imports.
TWE said the change was a prime opportunity for growth and it would reallocate a portion of its global market towards rebuilding its Chinese distribution.
In health care, Mesoblast soared 71.2 per cent to an eight-month high of 95c after the biotech company announced last week that it had the OK from the US Food and Drug Administration to resubmit for approval its treatment for rare complications from bone marrow transplants.
The Australian dollar had dipped back to less than 65 US cents, buying 64.90 US cents, from 65.24 US cents at Thursday's ASX close.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Tuesday finished nine points lower at 7,887.9, a drop of 0.11 per cent.
* The broader All Ordinaries dropped 7.9 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 8,145.8.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 64.90 US cents, from 65.24 US cents at Thursday's ASX close
* 98.48 Japanese yen, from 98.71 yen
* 60.47 Euro cents, from 60.28 Euro cents
* 51.74 British pence, from 51.65 pence
* 109.12 NZ cents, from 108.93 NZ cents
