At 10:30 (AEST), the benchmark ASX 200 index was down 17.90 points or 0.27 percent at 6,748.90, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 17.50 points or 0.25 percent at 6,997.10.
U.S. share markets were mixed on Friday. Rising bond yields pushed financials higher and technology lower.
At the close, the Dow Jones was up by 0.90 percent to record highs, the S&P 500 lifted by 0.10 percent to record highs, while the Nasdaq was down by 0.60 percent.
"The ongoing bond market rout presents a dilemma for share investors," CMC Markets chief market strategist Michael McCarthy said.
"Bonds are selling off due to a positive economic outlook. However the impact on prices, and therefore central bank policy, is potentially damaging to shares prices. "
On the local bourse, information technology and materials were leading losses, down 1.72 percent and 1.10 percent respectively.
In the financial space, the big banks were mixed with Commonwealth Bank down (0.22 percent), National Australia Bank down (0.02 percent), Westpac Bank up (0.20 percent) and ANZ down (0.04 percent).
Mining stocks were mostly lower with BHP down (1.15 percent), Rio Tinto down (2.44 percent), and Fortescue Metals down (4.00 percent), however, gold miner Newcrest was up (0.83 percent).
The country's oil and gas producers surged with Oil Search up (1.13 percent), Santos up (2.08 percent) and Woodside Petroleum up (0.76 percent).
Australia's largest supermarkets varied with Coles up (0.65 percent), and Woolworths down (0.05 percent).
Meanwhile telecommunications giant Telstra was unchanged (0.00 percent), the national carrier Qantas surged (1.51 percent) and biomedical firm CSL strengthened (0.63 percent).
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