Australian equities fell 81 points or 0.9% to 8,648 in Tuesday morning trade, marking a second straight decline as renewed uncertainty over U.S.–Iran peace talks triggered a sharp drop in U.S. futures. Local sentiment was further weighed by caution ahead of key domestic releases this week, including April building permits and Q1 business inventories and gross profits later today, followed by GDP and trade data in coming days. Sector performance was broadly negative, with process industries, logistics, retail trade, and financials among the major laggards. Gains were limited to a handful of groups such as electronic tech, energy minerals, and non-energy minerals. The big four banks slipped between 1.7% and 1.9%, while notable decliners included Scentre Group (-5.3%), GPT Group (-3.5%), Qantas Airways (-2.4%), and Medibank Private (-1.8%).