The S&P/ASX200 fell 3.2 points on Tuesday, down 0.04 per cent, to 9,070, as the broader All Ordinaries slipped 4.8 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 9,274.2.
The leading indices nearly broke a four-day losing streak, but fell into the red as the session closed, in an ultimately stabilising move.
"We'd seen the market down for four days in a row, and I think what we saw today was some support come from the most unlikely of sources - the much maligned healthcare sector storming to the front," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore told AAP.
Double-digit share price gains in CSL and Pro Medicus drove a nearly eight per cent rebound in the sector, which had tumbled by more than half since roughly a year earlier, as investors bet the bottom was finally behind them.
A $US9.8 billion ($13.8 billion) annual post-tax net profit helped lift BHP to $64.24 a share, but the broader materials sector was under pressure after soft economic data from China, and as deteriorating US-Iran relations sent oil prices higher.
"I just don't know when this rout in China's property market finishes," Mr Sycamore said.
"It is horrific, and it's now into a 37th consecutive month of annual declines."
Despite BHP's uplift, the rest of the segment mostly fell as copper and gold prices eased, while iron ore futures firmed to $US95.50 a tonne.
Brent crude rose to one-month highs around $US91.50 a barrel, as the 90-day US-Iran ceasefire lapsed with both sides threatening to re-escalate attacks.
The financials sector continued its downward trend as Bendigo Bank shares fell more than five per cent after the company released its unaudited 2025/26 financial results.
The regional lender also flagged tighter prudential licence conditions over non-financial risk weakness, a $49 million hit for a multi-year risk overhaul and a legal penalty.
Consumer-facing stocks continued to come under pressure, with staples and cyclicals each down more than one per cent, despite NAB's consumer sentiment survey improving for a second straight month.
In company news, Equities Trustees and Reliance Worldwide each surged more than 20 per cent after receiving respective takeover bids from TPG Global and Brookfield Capital Partners.
Wednesday brings another swathe of financial results, with Santos, Evolution Mining, Temple & Webster, Breville, Mirvac and Whitehaven Coal among the names reporting.
The Australian dollar is buying 71.01 US cents, down from 71.22 US cents on Monday at 5pm AEST.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 lost 3.2 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 9,070
* The broader All Ordinaries fell 4.8 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 9,274.2
One Australian dollar trades for:
* 71.01 US cents, from 71.22 US cents at 5pm AEST on Monday
* 113.42 Japanese yen, from 113.21 Japanese yen
* 61.36 euro cents, from 61.42 euro cents
* 52.50 British pence, from 52.53 pence
* 120.82 NZ cents, from 120.26 NZ cents
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