South32 fell 1.82 per cent to $2.69, Fortescue Metals was 0.82 per cent lower at $10.91, and BlueScope Steel dropped 1.17 per cent to $15.22.

The big four banks were all lower, with ANZ down 0.69 per cent at $24.61, Commonwealth Bank down 0.49 per cent to $80.71, NAB dipping 0.62 per cent to $24.775, and Westpac down 0.21 per cent to $24.28

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank was down 0.5 per cent at $9.90, Bank of Queensland was down 0.74 per cent at $7.345 and Macquarie Group was down 1.72 per cent at $137.825.

Shares in real estate groups Stockland, Mirvac, Dexus, GPT Group, and Vicitnity Centres - all of which went ex-dividend on Monday - fell by between 0.76 per cent and 2.11 per cent.

Toll road operator Transurban, Sydney Airport, and pipeline company APA also slipped, down by between 2.33 per cent and 3.98 per cent after delivering shareholders' payouts.

Energy stocks were mostly in the red, with Woodside, Oil Search, Origin, and Santos down by between 0.41 per cent and 1.21 per cent.

Beach Energy bucked the trend with a 0.19 per cent rise to $2.575.

Telco Telstra fell 0.41 per cent to $3.645, while biotech giant CSL also lost ground, dipping 0.45 per cent to $279.16.

Among consumer staple shares, supermarket Woolworths was down 0.72 per cent at $37.14, while rival Coles was down 0.13 per cent at $15.13.

The ASX had been expected to start the week lower following a stutter in Wall Street's year-end surge on Friday.

Continued here:
ASX sheds $17 billion as all sectors dive - The Age