The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Tuesday dipped 1.2 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 8,541.1, while the broader All Ordinaries dropped 1.0 point to 8,772.0.
The Australian dollar hit a fresh seven-month high against its weakening American counterpart, buying as much as 65.84 US cents in overnight trading.
At close of business on Tuesday, the Aussie was buying 65.75 US cents, from 65.44 US cents on Monday.
The greenback spiked after Donald Trump's election in November, but has slid since he took office in January, posting its worst start to a year since 1973 amid tariffs that are far more severe than most observers expected.
Westpac senior economist Mantas Vanagas said the US dollar fell 2.5 per cent in June against a basket of other currencies and the Aussie has been among the biggest beneficiaries of the greenback's weakness.
On Wall Street, however, the US was showing its strength overnight, with the S&P500 and the Nasdaq finishing the session at record highs.
Six of the ASX's 11 sectors finished lower on Tuesday. Utilities was the biggest mover, up 0.9 per cent as APA Group rose 1.2 per cent and APL added 0.9 per cent.
In the heavyweight mining sector, Fortescue rose 0.7 per cent to $15.38 but BHP dipped 0.5 per cent to $36.57 and Rio Tinto declined 0.9 per cent to $106.12.
The big four banks were mixed, with ANZ up 2.5 per cent to $29.89 and NAB adding 0.9 per cent to $39.70, while Westpac was basically flat at $33.87.
Commonwealth Bank fell 1.2 per cent to $182.58 after hitting an all-time high of more than $191 last week.
HMC Capital plunged 17.3 per cent to a two-year low of $4.22 after the diversified alternative asset manager announced energy transition head Angela Karl had stepped down and it would delay for a month its acquisition of a French renewable energy company's wind farms in Victoria.
Insignia Financial climbed 5.2 per cent to $3.82 after the wealth manager announced CC Capital was finalising approvals to make firm its non-binding offer to acquire the company.
Elsewhere, SGH dropped 2.9 per cent to $52.52 after diversified operating company formerly known as Seven Group Holdings announced Vik Bansal, chief executive of its Boral business, would step down in 2026.
A number of tech names did well on the back of the Nasdaq's record-setting day. Xero climbed 1.2 per cent, Life360 added 4.4 per cent and Zip grew 4.6 per cent.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Tuesday down 1.2 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 8,541.1
* The broader All Ordinaries dipped by one point to 8,772.0
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 65.75 US cents, from 65.44 US cents at 5pm on Monday
* 94.43 Japanese yen, from 94.16 Japanese yen
* 55.80 euro cents, from 55.72 euro cents
* 47.84 British pence, from 47.65 pence
* 107.86 NZ cents, from 107.64 NZ cents
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