At noon AEST on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had dropped 13.3 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 7,850.4, while the broader All Ordinaries had fallen 9.9 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 8,122.2.
Traders were digesting a gloomy consumer confidence survey and the latest minutes from the Reserve Bank.
The Westpac Consumer Confidence Index, based on a survey of 1,200 Australian adults conducted last week, found sentiment dipped further last month.
Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan said renewed cost-of-living pressures and inflation concerns had more than offset what looks to have been a relatively well-received federal budget.
"Consumer sentiment remains deeply pessimistic," he said.
The RBA minutes showed the board members discussed raising rates at their May 6-7 meeting before leaving rates unchanged.
The ASX's 11 sectors were mixed at midday, with six down and five up.
Technology was the biggest gainer, up 1.4 per cent ahead of AI chipmaker Nvidia's earning announcement on Thursday morning, which could be a key catalyst for markets globally.
Wisetech Global had grown 2.1 per cent, Life360 was up 2.4 per cent and Technology One was 5.1 per cent higher after the enterprise resource planning software-as-a-service company reported a $48 million half-year profit after tax, up 16 per cent from a year ago.
Chief executive Ed Chung said the company had won a number of new contracts in the region, including from Newcastle City Council in NSW, New Plymouth District Council in New Zealand and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Telstra was down 2.0 per cent to $3.595 as the telecommunications company announced plans to cut 2,800 jobs as part of a cost-cutting measure to its enterprise business.
Chief executive Vicki Brady said the measures were needed to ensure Telstra could continue to make investments necessary to support the ever-increasing growth in data volumes on its networks.
The heavyweight mining sector was down 0.8 per cent following Monday's 1.9 per cent gain.
BHP was up 0.2 per cent but most other miners were in the red, apart from some goldminers. Fortescue dropped 1.1 per cent and Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources both dipped 1.2 per cent.
The larger goldminers were down, with Newmont falling 0.8 per cent, but mid-tier miners were in the green as the precious metal changed hands at $US2,416 an ounce. Red 5 was up 3.2 per cent and Resolute was up 2.0 per cent.
James Hardie Industries plunged 9.8 per cent to a five-month low of $49.39 after the building materials company announced fourth-quarter earnings of $US232.5 million, slightly below expectations, and forecast lower sales in 2024/25.
"The outlook for the housing markets we participate in globally continues to remain uncertain," James Hardie said.
The Big Four banks were mixed, with ANZ up 0.5 per cent but NAB down 0.6 per cent, Westpac falling 0.2 per cent and CBA down 0.3 per cent.
Sonic Healthcare dropped 6.0 per cent to $25.02 after the global pathology business said its profit growth had been lower than expected in the four months to April 30, in part due to inflationary pressures on the business.
"Our current robust topline growth, organic and non-organic, in a setting of inflationary cost pressures, have combined to delay the completion of our programs to align labour costs more closely with post-pandemic conditions," said chief executive Dr Colin Goldschmidt.
On the flip side, ALS was up 5.2 per cent to $14.50 after the global testing company reported full-year earnings of $491.8 million, a slight increase of 0.2 per cent.
The Australian dollar was buying 66.59 US cents, down from a five-month high of 67.00 US cents at Monday's ASX close.
In cryptocurrency, Ethereum surged 19 per cent to a five-week high of $US3,677 ($A5,470) on rumours US regulators might be about to approve Ethereum exchange-traded funds, similar to the Bitcoin ETFs approved in January.
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