Australian shares fell on Tuesday as investors viewed a US move to level criminal charges against China's Huawei as potentially reducing the chance of Washington and Beijing reaching a durable resolution to their trade war. The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 0.5 percent or 31.40 points to 5,874.20 at the close, pulling back from a 0.7 percent gain on Friday. Markets were shut on Monday for Australia Day. The financial sector slipped 1.7 percent to a near three-week low and was the biggest drag on the benchmark.

The country's "Big four" banks shed between 1.6 percent to 2.3 percent each. Healthcare stocks also piled pressure on the main index, slumping 2.5 percent. Across the Tasman sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index closed 1.2 percent lower or 108.140 points to finish the session at 9,006.380.

Copyright Reuters, 2019