The local share market has suffered its fourth straight day of losses amid concerns about the state of the global economy and unrest in Russia.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Monday finished down 20.5 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 7,078.7, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 21.5 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 7,264.1.
The ASX200 has now fallen 3.8 per cent since Tuesday's close, the end of a seven-day winning streak, and is at its lowest level since March 29.
"We've really taken a shelling, haven't we," said Zoran Kresovic, a market analyst with Australian derivatives broker Eightcap.
He said it wasn't unexpected that the index had pulled back as it neared 7,400, which has recently served as a resistance level.
Noting the Bank of England's supersized interest rate hike last week, Mr Kresovic said the outlook for continued rate rises around the world was the primary reason the market was falling.
The armed rebellion in Moscow had added to the market's jitters.
Nine of the ASX's 11 sectors finished lower with consumer staples, health care and utilities the worst laggards, all falling 0.6 per cent.
Mining services company Perenti was among the worst performers, falling 9.8 per cent to $1.15 as investors apparently rejected its $400 million acquisition of smaller rival DDH1.
The diamond drilling company's shares rose 6.4 per cent to 91.5c following announcement of the cash-and-scrip takeover, which the companies said would create a world-class mining services group.
In a big day for M&A activity, the Wesfarmers' subsidary that owns Priceline Pharmacy agreed to pay $180 million to buy SILK Laser Australia, an ASX-listed chain of laser skincare products.
Wesfarmers shares rose 0.5 per cent to $48.30 while SILK Laser shares climbed 17.7 per cent to $3.32, just under the $3.35 takeover price.
In the heavyweight mining sector, BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals all dropped 0.3 per cent, to $44.45, $112.74 and $21.34, respectively.
But goldminers were up as the price of the safe haven metal rebounded slightly to $US1925 ($A2881) an ounce, still below where it has been for most of the last three months.
Newcrest rose 1.2 per cent and Northern Star jumped 2 per cent.
NAB dropped 0.8 per cent to $25.57, CBA fell 0.6 per cent to $97.93, Westpac fell 0.3 per cent to $20.68 and ANZ dipped 0.2 per cent to $22.77.
In consumer staples, Metcash gained 4.7 per cent to $3.76 after the IGA, Mitre 10 and Cellarbrations supplier reported profit growth.
Its underlying profit after tax grew 4.6 per cent to $307.5 million for the 12 months ended April 30.
"It has been another record year for Metcash, and one that represents continued progress on the outstanding results in the prior two years," said group CEO Doug Jones.
The Australian dollar was buying 66.73 US cents, down from 66.97 US cents at Wednesday's ASX close.
Traders will be watching as central bankers from around the globe speak at a European Central Bank forum in Sintra, Portugal.
On Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics will release consumer price index data for May that will likely influence whether the Reserve Bank again hikes rates at its July 4 meeting.
The central bank will also likely examine job vacancy figures and private sector credit data released in coming days.
"There’s plenty of fresh information this week that could sway the RBA in favour of another hike or a pause," St George economist Jameson Coombs wrote in a note.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Monday down 20.5 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 7,078.7
* The broader All Ordinaries fell 21.5 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 7,264.1
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 66.78 US cents, from 67.64 US cents at Friday's ASX close
* 95.64 Japanese yen, from 95.92 Japanese yen
* 61.24 Euro cents, from 61.56 Euro cents
* 52.44 British pence, from 53.02 British pence
* 108.55 NZ cents, from 109.25 NZ cents
