Australian shares fell on Monday's close as President Donald Trump threatened on Sunday to hit all steel and aluminum imports into the US with a 25% tariff, with no clear start date.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.3% or 28.6 points to close at 8,482.8.

It's unclear if President Trump will follow through with his threats, having delayed tariffs on Canada and Mexico while imposing them on China, Bloomberg reported.

Trump's plans raise tensions ahead of Powell's congressional testimony Tuesday, as officials signal caution on policy easing and upcoming inflation data may support market expectations of one Fed rate cut this year, the report said.

On the domestic front, Business turnover across Australia's 13 industries rose 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis in December 2024, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.

In a separate filing, the bureau said that Australia's seasonally adjusted approved dwellings rose 0.7% month on month to 15,174 in December 2024, following a 3.4% fall in November, in line with preliminary data.

In company news, WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC) said it received two confidential complaints, one from an employee and one from a supplier, concerning Founder and Founding Chief Executive Richard White. Shares of the company fell past 4% at market close.

JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) reported Monday that its earnings per diluted share in the fiscal first half rose to AU$2.60, from AU$2.41 per diluted share a year earlier. Shares of the company fell past 5% at market close.

Lastly, Star Entertainment Group (ASX:SGR) confirmed that it received confidential nonbinding offers for its 50% stake in the Destination Brisbane joint venture, which owns Star Brisbane integrated resort, following a media report on Sunday. Shares of the company rose past 13% at market close.