ASX 200 closes up 1.1pc after hitting three-week high; travel stocks, Magellan rally

ASX closes 1.1 per cent higher, driven by miners following rise in iron ore prices and financials sector. Travel stocks extend gains, Macquarie and Suncorp rally on earnings updates and Magellan rebounds.

Traders are waiting for the earnings season to ramp up to help provide direction for the market. Picture: AAP Image/Dean Lewins.

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Tuesday, February 8. ASX closes 1.1 per cent higher after hitting a three-week high earlier in the trading session. Miners gain on the back of rising iron ore prices. Macquarie books a record December quarter and Suncorp jumps on its half-year earnings.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed 1.1 per cent higher to 7186.7, while the All Ordinaries added 1 per cent to 7489.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.4 points higher, while the S&P 500 fell 0.4 per cent and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.6 per cent.

Iron ore traded 1.9 per cent higher to $US149.40 a tonne. The US Nymex crude price dropped 1 per cent to $US91.40 a barrel.

Originally published as ASX 200 closes up 1.1pc after hitting three-week high; travel stocks, Magellan rally