ASX 200 down 0.4pc; Forrest mulls US coal plant deal; Pendal rejects Perpetual bid; Jindalee spin-out; Cimic settles gas spat

ASX 200 dropped 0.4 per cent, with falls across the board. Investors heavily sold off health care and tech  stocks. Forrest mulls US coal plant deal, while Pendal rebuffs Perpetual and Afterpay losses mount.

Global markets sold off overnight as markets started to price in much higher interest rates. Picture: Jeremy Piper / NCA NewsWire

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Tuesday, April 12. ASX 200 tumbled 0.4 per cent. Jindalee plans Aus spin-out. Star falsely used legal privilege. Pendal dismisses Perpetual bid. Afterpay losses explode. Cimic settles gas spat.

The S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.4 per cent lower at 7454.0, with falls across the board. The health care sector was the biggest loser followed by tech and real estate stocks. 

In the US, government bonds extended their sell-off as the market priced in higher interest rates ahead of key inflation data.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.2 per cent, the S&P 500 shed 1.7 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 2.2 per cent.

Elsewhere, European bourses were weaker overnight with the exception of France.

US Nymex crude oil dropped 3.5 per cent to $US94.82 a barrel overnight and iron ore futures slid 1.5 per cent to $US153.18 as China's Covid-19 outbreak hit demand.