Australia shares edge higher Rio bucks trend

SYDNEY, April 20 (Reuters) - Australian shares edged higher on Monday after Wall Street notched up its best six-week winning streak since 1938, helped by better-than-expected results from General Electric GE.N and Citigroup C.N.

But shares in global miner Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO.ax) RIO.L bucked the trend, falling over 2 percent amid media speculation that it and rival miner BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP.ax) BLT.L had held informal talks. BHP pulled a bid for Rio last year, but there has been speculation it might re-bid for some Rio assets amid uncertainty over Rio's proposed $19.5 billion tie-up with China's Chinalco.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index JO stood 7.2 points firmer at 3,783.9 at 0013 GMT.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index .NZ50 was up 6.35 points at 2,717.61.

More Quotes and Company Information:BHP BILLITON (ASX: BHP.ax)RIO TINTO LIMITED(ASX: RIO.ax) ... read original article
Mon 20th April 2009 - 10:21am