"If the US Fed steps into buy bonds and keep real yields negative tonight, then you might see a short-covering rally in tech. If not, tech will continue to slide."
Three of the "Big Four" banks traded in red, while Westpac Banking Corp jumped as much as 0.7%, extending gains into a second day after it reported an over three-fold jump in its first-half cash earnings.
Meanwhile, AGL Energy hit record low after its chief executive officer resigned just less than a month after the power producer announced its plans to split its businesses into two.
BHP is also looking to boost the number of permanent employees to around 60-80% of total staff in the next few years, Henry said, to increase safety and productivity.