At 10:30 (AEST), the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 7.50 points or 0.13 percent at 5,920.10, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 8.90 points or 0.15 percent at 6,124.30.
A close to 2 percent slump by the country's largest bank, Commonwealth, offset gains elsewhere in the sector, while tech and healthcare stocks were also firmly lower.
Tempering losses was a modest lift in materials, industrials and consumer staples, while real estate and utility shares rallied.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) was due to release its monthly decision on interest rates on Tuesday, with expectations of a cut from 0.25 to 0.1 percent, as well as potential quantitative easing measures contributing to investor actions.
In the financial space, the big banks were mixed with Commonwealth Bank down (1.88 percent), Westpac Bank down (0.17 percent), National Australia Bank up (0.32 percent) and ANZ up (0.80 percent).
Mining stocks also varied with BHP up (0.56 percent), Rio Tinto up (0.29 percent), Fortescue Metals down (0.72 percent) and goldminer Newcrest up (0.45 percent).
The country's oil and gas producers lifted with Oil Search up (0.78 percent), Santos up (0.21 percent) and Woodside Petroleum up (0.57 percent).
Australia's largest supermarkets bounced with Coles up (0.68 percent), and Woolworths up (0.76 percent).
Meanwhile telecommunications giant Telstra rallied (1.12 percent), the national carrier Qantas took off (1.67 percent) and biomedical firm CSL edged higher (0.08 percent).
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