The Australian sharemarket closed flat on Tuesday as a crumbling iron ore price dragged miners down and a rebound in banks faded late in the session.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index gained just 0.05 per cent to close at 5824.2 points after earlier in the day trading as high as 5856.7 while the broader All Ordinaries Index gained 0.02 per cent to 5794.3 points.

Over at Wall Street, investors on Monday celebrated the sixth anniversary of a bull run, with the S&P 500 closing at 2079.4 points, up 0.4 per cent.

The US benchmark index has gained 212 per cent since the S&P 500 hit 666 points in the midst of of the global financial crisis in 2009, as opposed to the local, resources-heavy sharemarket which is up just 83 per cent over the same period.

IG market strategist Evan Lucas said he was expecting the ASX to remain subdued in the next couple of weeks but another rate cut would set the market in motion for reaching 6000.

"We have had a really poor earnings season but a lot of people have positioned themselves for yield rather than growth," Mr Lucas said. "We have a genuine feeling we're in for a fallback. But there is a case for reaching 6000 points if the interest rate moves."

Miners and energy stocks led the losses on Tuesday as iron ore and oil prices continued to crumble.

Resources giant BHP Billiton lost 0.75 per cent to $31.91, main rival Rio Tinto lost 1.1 per cent to $58.55 while iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group lost 5.6 per cent to $2.02. The spot price for iron ore, landed in China, fell 1.5 per cent to $US58.58 a tonne, its lowest since 2009.

Australia's biggest oil producer, Woodside Petroleum, was down 0.1 per cent to $34.89 and Santos was down 2.9 per cent to $7.33 after Brent crude oil slipped 2 per cent overnight to $US58.58 a barrel.

QBE joined the miners in dragging the sharemarket down, losing 3.7 per cent to $13.30.

The big four banks, Telstra and healthcare helped to offset some of the losses on Tuesday.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia was up 0.2 per cent to $90.68 while Westpac Banking Corporation was up 0.8 per cent to $37.67. ANZ Banking Group gained 0.4 per cent to $35.30 and National Australia Bank was up 0.4 per cent to $35.30.

Telstra was up 1 per cent at $6.20. Biotechnology giant CSL was up 1.3 per cent to $93.52 and Amcor gained 1.6 per cent at $14.57.

The supermarkets were mixed. Woolworths lost 1.5 per cent to $29.36 while Wesfarmers, owner of Coles, was flat at $43.60.

Deutsche Bank strategist Tim Baker upgraded the bank's June end target for the ASX 200 to 6000 from 5500, with the Reserve Bank cash rate around 2 per cent.

"Fresh lows for interest rates seem to have driven the price-to-earnings ratio higher," Mr Baker said.

"While low real rates aren't good for the PE, rates this low have little historic precedent, and could continue to spur a search for yield. There is surplus cash on the sidelines. Eighteen per cent of Australian superannuation assets sit in deposits earning minimal return. And global investors are likely to be attracted to Australia's superior dividend yield," he said.

But Mr Baker said there could be a dip in the sharemarket in the near term.

"Sell side analysts are bearish on the market. There has [also] been a marked rise in the volatility of daily share price movements amongst individual stocks," he said.

Sundance Energy was the best-performing stock in the ASX 200, climbing 6.9 per cent to $0.54. BC Iron was the worst-performing stock in the ASX 200, losing 7.4 per cent at $0.38, as the tumbling iron ore price took more casualties.