ASX 200 rallies 0.5% as Crown Resorts soars 8.8% on sweetened bid

ASX rallied for the second straight day as investors shrugged off a jump in US inflation. Crown surges 8.8 per cent after Blackstone lifts offer and Qantas slashes capacity over weak demand.

Australian shares take their lead from the US after inflation data showed the biggest jump in prices since 1982. Photo: Dean Lewins/AAP Image

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Thursday, January 13. ASX rallied for the second consecutive day, led by a rally in commodity stocks and Crown Resorts as investors shrugged off the biggest jump in US inflation since 1982.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed up by 0.5 per cent to 7,474.4, led by the materials and energy sectors. The All Ordinaries index gained 35.3 points to close at 7,797.5

However, US S&P 500 futures fell 0.2 per cent intra-day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.1 per cent, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.3 per cent and tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.2 per cent.

The US Nymex crude price advanced 0.2 per cent to $US82.82 a barrel, while Iron ore advanced 2.3 per cent to $US131.60 per tonne.