The Australian market extended its losses today, following a mostly weaker lead from US and European shares overnight.

A majority of sectors closed underwater, with healthcare and energy stocks the hardest hit.

The big four banks weighed on the market; ANZ and Westpac were the worst of the group, both declining 1%.

Mining majors were more or less down on the day; BHP sank 0.4%, Rio Tinto dipped 0.6% whilst smaller rival Fortescue was the exception adding 0.2%.

In the energy space, Santos (-1.3%) and Woodside (-0.2%) both lost ground, hurt by falling oil prices.

Elsewhere, Perpetual soared 9.9% after rumours emerged that a private equity firm is preparing to approach the asset manager with a takeover offer around $30 a share.

The ASX 200 shed 23 points (-0.6%), to settle at 4041

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Evening Market Analyis: Drifting Lower is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog