Australian shares fell on Tuesday, despite gains in other Asian markets, after US President Trump granted a tariff exemption from tariffs for automakers in Mexico and Canada.

The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.6% or 46.4 points to close at 8,094.7.

Responding to industry pleas, President Trump granted a one-month exemption for automakers who comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade deal to give companies time to shift more investment and production to the US, Bloomberg reported.

On the domestic front, Australia's goods surplus expanded to AU$5.62 billion in January from AU$4.92 billion in December 2024, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.

The total number of seasonally adjusted approved dwellings in Australia grew 6.3% to 16,579 in January following a 1.7% rise in the prior month, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.

In company news, Healthscope, a tenant of HealthCo Healthcare and Wellness REIT's (ASX:HCW) hospital properties, appointed advisory firm KordaMentha to prepare a contingency plan in case of voluntary administration, according to a Wednesday report by the Australian Financial Review. HealthCo's shares rose 2% on market close.

Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings' (ASX:NEC) largest institutional shareholder, Pendal, is backing the proposed acquisition of Domain Holdings Australia (ASX:DHG) by Texas-based real estate company CoStar Group, the Australian Financial Review reported

Lastly, Arcadium Lithium (ASX:LTM) shares were suspended immediately from trading following the Royal Court of Jersey's sanction on its acquisition by Rio Tinto's (ASX:RIO) unit.