Australian shares were flat with negative bias on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept the official cash rate at 4.35% following its two-day monetary policy meeting.

The S&P/ASX200 was little changed to close at 8,142.

Australia's central bank maintained interest rates in a move seen as a divergence from global peers' easing cycle.

In its monetary policy statement on Tuesday, the RBA said household consumption growth is still expected to pick up in the second half of the year amid receding headwinds, though the pace of rebound may be slower than expected.

"Rates are expected to hold at 4.35%, as services prices, utility bills, housing costs, and rents have kept Australia's inflation among the highest in the world," said Jessica Amir, a market strategist for trading platform moomoo, as cited by Reuters.

Elsewhere, Australian consumer confidence jumped to a record high in the week of Sept. 16 to 22, with the ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index rising 0.8 points to 84.9, its highest since January 2023.

In corporate news, shares of specialist investment firm Hygrovest (ASX:HGV) surged 25% at market close as it divested its shareholdings at Emerging Therapeutics in exchange for AU$3.5 million in cash payable on Sept. 25 and an additional AU$300,000 to be paid 18 months after receipt of the first cash payment.

West Cobar Metals (ASX:WC1) confirmed a thick zone of antimony and copper mineralization after diamond drilling at its Bulla Park project in New South Wales. Shares of the mining firm rallied 11% at market close.

Gaming firm Light & Wonder (ASX:LNW) said Tuesday it plans to appeal the decision of the District Court of Nevada granting Aristocrat Gaming a preliminary injunction for the Dragon Train game. Its shares closed down 18%.