ASX rises 0.2 per cent; Rio Tinto hit by commodity prices; Sezzle in halt after surge

ASX gains on health and bank stocks as CPI hits 6.1 per cent. Rio Tinto production flat, Sezzle in halt as shares surge, IGO output soars and Rex gets ACCC nod for Cobham.

Investors are digesting a deluge of global major corporate earnings updates and international and global economic data. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Wednesday, July 27. The Australian sharemarket ended higher on gains in health and financials after a rise in headline inflation came in below consensus expectations.

The S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.2 per cent, or 15.93 points, to 6823.20 with seven of the 11 sectors in the green. Energy, communication, utilities and materials were the only sections of the benchmark index to retreat.

In the US, ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s anticipated 75 basis point rate hike and as the International Monetary Fund warned the world is on the verge of a recession, Wall St fell.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.7 per cent lower, while the S&P 500 fell by 1.2 per cent with the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index down by 1.9 per cent.

Oil prices fell with the international benchmark Brent crude decreasing by 0.7 per cent to $US104.40 per barrel while the US Nymex crude price fell 1.8 per cent to $US94.98.

Iron ore futures price is up 1.3 per cent to $US106.35 a tonne.

The Aussie dollar was near US69.30c at the US close.