Tech-inspired losses on Wall Street and a drop in iron ore prices overnight set the stage for a difficult day in Australia.

Miners were the worst performers by a wide margin, with the sector taking 14 points off the index by the close. BHP accounted for 6 of those points, with the diversified giant losing 1.9 per cent to $28.67 during the session.

Rio Tinto declined 1.8 per cent to $75.23 while South32 fell 2.9 per cent to $3.31.

TPG Telecom couldn't hold on to early earnings-inspired gains and ended the day down 4.6 per cent at $5.76 a share.

Banks were recovering a bit, however, following a week of notable losses in tandem with royal commission hearings into the financial sector.

Commonwealth Bank shares climbed 0.4 per cent to $75.19, Westpac rose 0.4 per cent to $29.63, ANZ moved up 0.1 per cent to $28.05. NAB shares ended the day down 0.2 per cent at $29.28.

- With wires

Stockwatch:

Nine Entertainment shares dropped 2.1 per cent to $2.34 after the television broadcaster was downgraded at Credit Suisse and Morningstar. The downgrades follow a strong run for Nine's shares since the middle of February when it was trading at $1.57 a share. The rally in Nine's shares started when it revealed first-half results, with interim net profit excluding significant items up 55 per cent to $116.2 million in part boosted by increased revenue share in a metropolitan TV advertising market that recorded growth. The shares hit their highest level since March 2014 on Monday.

Market movers:

The Australian dollar edged up from an early low of US76.99c to trade at US77.01¢ , after the minutes of the RBA's last interest rate meeting indicated the central bank is sticking to its 3 per cent GDP target. On Monday, the currency fell to its lowest level since late December, declining along with iron ore prices, with even a retreat in the greenback as investors favoured the euro and sterling failing to help to support the Aussie.

FOMC

RBC Capital says that it expects the Federal Reserve to hike rates this week and that hike will be the first of four rate rises this year. "The market is still not priced for four hikes in 2018," economist Tom Porcelli wrote. RBC asked clients about their expectations for Fed rate hikes and found that only 20 per cent expected a shift in the 2018 median 'dot' at this week's FOMC meeting. However, the majority, or 52 per cent, of respondents expected they would shift at some point this year, the economist said.

China GDP

China said it's fully confident of achieving its 2018 economic targets as its economic fundamentals remain sound. Premier Li Keqiang said that Chinese regulators will also take resolute measures to tackle financial risks. China's financial sector is in good shape and the banks have enough provisions, the premier added. China aims to expand its economy by around 6.5 percent this year, the same target as in 2017, which it handily beat.

Gold

Gold was down $2.00 at $1314.85 an ounce, after hitting a two-week low in the previous session, as traders wait to gauge the path of US monetary policy for the rest of the year. Higher interest rates tend to boost the US dollar and push bond yields up, pressuring gold prices by increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. Ongoing tensions over global trade were also at play in the metals markets, however, with political and financial uncertainty acting to support safe-haven demand for the yellow metal.