The Australian share market has clawed back some lost ground from its heavy falls in morning trade but remains deep in the red with losses across the board.

Oil players and miners are among the worst performers, with the energy sector down two per cent and materials down more than three per cent.

Oil producer Santos led the falls on the ASX 200, shedding more than 7.5 per cent while the big four banks were also down.

However, Woolworths is holding up the board after soaring more than five per cent on announcing it was cutting its losses with its struggling hardware chain Masters.

Rival Wesfarmers was also up 2.5 per cent on news that its Bunning business would expand into the UK home improvement market through the takeover of local player Homebase.

KEY FACTS:

* At 1207 AEDT on Monday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 42.6 points, or 0.87 per cent, at 4850.2 points.

* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 47.2 points, or 0.95 per cent, at 4,901.3 points.

* The March share price index futures contract was down 31 points at 4801 points, with 28,715 contracts traded.

* At 1227 AEDT, national turnover was 1 billion securities traded worth $1.8 billion.