Australian shares fell on Tuesday, tracking a downbeat Wall Street session amid heightened Ukraine-Russia tensions, although gains in heavyweight iron ore miner BHP Group after bumper first-half earnings provided a floor to the benchmark index.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.6% at 7,203.9 points, as of 2353 GMT. The benchmark closed 0.4% higher on Monday.
Domestic stocks were tracking a sharp sell-off in US peers as plans to close the US embassy in Kyiv, a possible sign of an imminent Russian invasion in Ukraine, prompted investors to pull back from riskier assets.
BHP Group gained up to 2.1% after the miner declared a record interim dividend and posted a first-half profit that beat analysts' estimates.
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Among sub-indexes, energy stocks were the top losers, shedding nearly 2% as investors locked in profits after the index hit a one-year peak in the previous session.
Heavyweights Woodside Petroleum and Santos fell 1.5% and 1.9%, respectively.
Financials dropped 1%, with the 'Big Four' banks slipping between 1.1% and 2.4%.
On the upside, gold stocks jumped nearly 2% to their highest level in three weeks as the Russia-Ukraine conflict boosted bullion's safe-haven demand.
Shares of Australian miner Newcrest Mining rose 1.5%.
The bullion is considered a hedge against soaring inflation and often used as a safe store of value during times of political and financial uncertainty.
The gold rally helped lift the mining index up 1.8% to its highest level in nearly four weeks.
In New Zealand, the benchmark was down 0.3% at 11,945.52 points, as of 2353 GMT.