ASX 200 ends lower; Ansells dives on guidance cut

ASX ends lower after choppy session, with falls led by banks and miners. ARB rises on sales surge, Ansell dives 14 per cent on guidance cut and VGI confirms Regal deal.

Traders are waiting for Tuesday’s key Reserve Bank policy meeting to help determine the trajectory of interest rates this year. Picture: Nikki Short / NCA NewsWire

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Monday, January 31. ASX ended slightly lower on a bumpy day that saw the market fall by as much as 0.8 per cent before trading in the green. It comes as Ansell dives on profit warning and four-wheel drive parts business ARB flags a sales boom.  The ASX 200 is down 6.35 per cent for the month.

The S&P/ASX 200 ended lower by 0.2 per cent to 6971.6, while the All Ordinaries added 2 points to 7268.3.

The weak start is despite the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing up 1.7 per cent on Friday, the S&P 500 climbing 2.4 per cent higher and the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumping 3.1 per cent.

Iron ore traded jumped 6.6 per cent to $US147.90 a tonne. The US Nymex crude price gained 0.8 per cent to $US87.29 a barrel.

Originally published as ASX 200 ends lower; Ansells dives on guidance cut