The S&P/ASX200 fell 21.6 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 8,849.6 on Monday, as the broader All Ordinaries slipped 13.6 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 9,126.9.
The move came after weak US jobs data on Friday sent Wall Street lower despite narrowing hopes of interest rate cuts, and as oil prices slipped on a weak demand outlook and OPEC+ flagging October production hikes.
"Some areas of market have done OK by the prospect of rate cuts, tech in particular, but for the most part we're a heavily cyclically weighted index and it's been dragged by Friday's result," Capital.com market analyst Kyle Rodda told AAP.
Tech (down 1.4 per cent) and health care (up 0.9 per cent) were the only segments finding significant buyers, as eight of 11 sectors fell into the red.
Banks were heavy, with financials down 0.6 per cent, while energy stocks took a 1.6 per cent hit as Santos (down 1.2 per cent) and Woodside (down 2.7 per cent) slipped on the oil price to multi-week lows.
CBA was the only big four bank to finish higher, up slightly to $168.24 as the other three fell between 0.6 and one per cent.
Insurers also sold off, with QBE shedding 3.7 per cent, IAG down 2.1 per cent and Suncorp fading two per cent.
The materials sector finished mostly flat, with Rio Tinto the only apparent beneficiary of iron ore futures pushing above $US105 a tonne, up 0.8 per cent to $118.21, as BHP (down 0.6 per cent) and Fortescue (down 0.3 per cent) sold off.
Gold miners were also a mixed bag as the precious metal hovered about an all-time high of $US3,600 ($A5,480) an ounce.
Northern Star gained 0.8 per cent to $20.10, while Newmont (down 0.6 per cent) and Evolution (down 1.4 per cent) ground lower.
Australia's tech sector was bolstered by tracking software Life360, which rallied more than six per cent to $95.35, as Xero (up 1.3 per cent) and WiseTech Global (up 1.9 per cent) posted solid gains.
Consumer staple stocks fell 0.4 per cent as Coles and Woolworths flagged a potential $1 billion in underpayment penalties in the wake of a Federal Court decision on Friday.
Discretionary spending stocks fell even further, as BCF and Rebel Sport owner Super Retail went ex-dividend and slid 4.2 per cent to $18.05 - the top-200's worst performance of the day.
More than 100 companies will hand cash back to shareholders between now and mid-November, which could spell short-term pain for share prices but ultimately provide investors more liquidity for reinvestment.
The Australian dollar is buying 65.76 US cents, up from 65.33 US cents on Friday at 5pm, as hopes of incoming US rate cuts weigh on the greenback.
In a lean week for local macroeconomic data, investors will be looking to inflation and producer price data from the US and China later in the week.
Westpac and NAB release consumer and business confidence surveys on Tuesday.
"Obviously, we're well out of earnings season now, so it's mostly going to be a sort of a global story for the market," Mr Rodda said.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 slipped 21.6 points on Monday, or 0.24 per cent, to 8,849.6
* The broader All Ordinaries fell 13.6 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 9,126.9
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 65.76 US cents, from 65.33 US cents on Friday
* 97.20 Japanese yen, from 96.84 Japanese yen
* 56.08 euro cents, from 55.99 euro cents
* 48.86 British pence, from 48.55 British pence
* 111.16 NZ cents, from 111.36 NZ cents
8°C