ASX steadies after shaky start to finish 0.5% higher

The news: The benchmark ASX 200 overcame an early morning dip to finish the day 0.50% higher at 7,192.30. The All Ordinaries gained 0.4% for the day. The Aussie dollar rallied roughly 1% and is now trading at around 64.3 US cents, its highest value in almost a week. Iron ore futures in Singapore jumped more than 2%, helping to boost BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue by more than 1.1% .

The numbers: Financial stocks did well, with the sector lifting 1.27% on the back of strong performances from the big four banks and Macquarie, which all gained more than 1.17% each. Other sectors were relatively flat except consumer staples, which gained 0.93%. Healthcare and real estate stocks both lost roughly 0.65%.

The context: NAB's monthly business confidence index comes out tomorrow, and Australian unemployment figures will be published on Thursday. US CPI data and UK GDP figures print on Wednesday night, followed by the European Central Bank's monetary policy statement and Chinese industrial production figures on Thursday night.