ASX 200 closes 0.5% lower on broad losses; Regis Resources dives on guidance cut

ASX closes down by 0.5 per cent on broad falls led by tech and materials. Regis Resources tumbles after guidance cut, Uniti soars on takeover chatter and Fortescue makes $310m battery play.

Traders are awaiting a key US Federal Reserve meeting this week that may provide clues on the trajectory of the US interest rates. Picture: Nikki Short /NCA NewsWire

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Monday, January 24. ASX has closed lower for a second day amid broad falls led by tech and materials sectors. It comes as  Uniti gains 9.3 per cent after confirming it has received multiple takeover approaches and Fortescue buys Williams Advanced Engineering for $310m.

The S&P/ASX 200 index finished lower by 0.5 per cent or 36.3 points to 7139.5, after falling by as much as 1.2 per cent to 7086.8.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1.3 per cent, the S&P 500 dropped by 1.9 per cent and tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 2.7 per cent, keeping the benchmark gauge firmly in correction territory.

Iron ore traded 2.8 per cent higher to $US137.40 a tonne. The US Nymex crude price traded down 2.4 per cent to $US84.83 a barrel.