At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.28 per cent lower at 7,766.70.
Aus shares dipped slightly, driven by declines in the tech, retail, and healthcare sectors, following a sideways trend as Wall Street was closed for Memorial Day.
However, gains in oil, copper, silver, and gold prices bolstered metals miners, balancing the losses.
The Australian dollar saw a modest increase, while on the ASX, the materials sector remained steady amidst a rise in gold prices, with notable gains observed in gold mining stocks like Newmont and Evolution.
Additionally, macroeconomic indicators, such as Australian retail sales figures, pointed to challenges in consumer spending due to rising living costs, prompting considerations of tax cuts and rebates to stimulate demand.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 16 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 5.5 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 40 points.
The SPI futures are down 22 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was Consumer Staples, up 0.19 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Industrials, down 1.01 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Yancoal Australia (ASX:YAL), closing 2.34 per cent higher at $6.57. It was followed by shares in Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) and EBOS Group (ASX:EBO).
The worst-performing large cap was Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY), closing 4.1 per cent lower at $5.85. It was followed by shares in Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ) and Ramsay Health Care (ASX:RHC).
Asian markets
Japan's Nikkei has lost 0.06 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 0.20 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 1.10 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2,349.70 an ounce.
Iron ore is 1.3 per cent lower at US$119.00 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.8 per cent fall.
Light crude is trading $1.05 higher at US$78.77 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 66.62 US cents.
