The Australian sharemarket came under pressure on Tuesday with investors largely opting to stay on the sidelines as the Ukraine-Russia crisis showed no signs of abating.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index dipped 0.5 per cent, or 37 points, to 7206.9.

Five out of 11 sectors fell, with energy stocks leading losses as oil prices retreated from seven-year highs.

Shares in Woodside Petroleum fell 2.5 per cent to $26.74, having touched a one-year top on Monday. Santos dropped 4.1 per cent to $7.4, retreating from an eight-month high and Beach Energy skidded 10.5 per cent to $1.455.

Gold stocks, however, performed better as the geopolitical tensions boosted safe-haven assets. AngloGold jumped 3.9 per cent to $5.88. Northern Star climbed 0.7 per cent to $9.06, but Newcrest Mining and Evolution Mining slipped.

BHP shares ended the session 0.3 per cent lower at $48.18, having climbed to a six-month peak of $49.88 after posting a better-than-expected first-half profit and interim dividend thanks to higher commodity prices such as iron ore, coking coal and copper.

Cosmetics retailer Adore Beauty Group dived 8.1 per cent to $2.48 even as it posted strong double-digit sales growth in the first half.

All four big banks ended the session in the red.