The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index clawed back some of its early losses in afternoon trading on Tuesday, finishing near the day's highs.
It closed 28.8 points lower at 8816.9, a 0.33 per cent drop, after it had been down by as much as 98 points, or 1.1 per cent, in the first hour of trading.
The All Ordinaries dropped 31.5 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 8944.2.
Betashares investment strategist Hugh Lam said the ASX might be reflecting the caution seen across Asia, with South Korea and Japan's markets also failing to participate in an overnight tech-led relief rally on Wall Street.
Losses for BHP were a 14.3 point drag on the ASX200 on Tuesday, accounting for almost half of its losses.
The Big Australian fell 1.6 per cent to $59.50 after disclosing its quarterly copper output had dropped 19 per cent to around 400,000 tonnes, well below analyst expectations.
"BHP has left itself very little margin for error on copper this year," said Josh Gilbert, eToro's lead APAC analyst.
It would have to average 415,000 tonnes over each of the next three quarters just to reach the bottom end of its guidance for 2026/27, he said.
Elsewhere in the sector, Rio Tinto dropped 0.4 per cent to $154.84 and South32 lost 2.4 per cent to $4.440.
Goldminers were also under pressure as the yellow metal fell $10 to trade at $US4,149 an ounce, with Evolution retreating 1.4 per cent and Northern Star slipping 1.7 per cent.
In financials, NAB retreated 1.8 per cent to $39.20 after the big four bank announced it plans to lay off 2500 workers over 2026/27.
The business-focused bank said the job cuts would make it a stronger bank, but the fact that losses were more modest for the other big banks suggested traders were concerned about the strategy.
Westpac and ANZ both lost 0.8 per cent, to $35.13 and $38.98, respectively, while CBA edged 0.1 per cent higher at $155.60.
Elsewhere in the sector, HUB24 gained 3.9 per cent to $67.08 after the investment management platform used by financial advisers to manage client portfolios reported $4 billion in net inflows in the first quarter.
In real estate, Ingenia Group climbed 9.7 per cent to $4.65 after the retirement community operator said it was granting a US private equity firm an extension to come to terms on its takeover offer.
Warburg Pincus has floated a tentative price of $5.25 per stapled security, and the two sides now have until Friday to sign a deal.
In health care, Cochlear rose 5.2 per cent to $139.40, while Starpharma slid by a third to a six-month low of 50 cents after taking majority ownership of a UK-based biotech, Petalion Therapeutics.
In currency, the Australian dollar was trading at 69.81 US cents, up from 69.73 US cents at 5pm on Monday.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 dropped 28.8 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 8816.9
* The broader All Ordinaries fell 31.5 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 8944.2
One Australian dollar trades for:
* 69.81 US cents, from 69.73 US cents at 5pm on Monday
* 110.42 Japanese yen, from 110.25 Japanese yen
* 62.17 euro cents, from 62.12 euro cents
* 52.37 British pence, from 52.32 pence
* 122.96 NZ cents, from 123.24 NZ cents
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