Talk of huge mining play stokes market

The stockmarket continued its record run yesterday as reports from market analysts suggesting global miner BHP Billiton could take over rival Rio Tinto sent both stocks surging.
While Rio and BHP shares drove the market upwards, shares in national carrier Qantas remained in a trading halt, pending further announcements in the wake of Airline Partners Australia's failed $11.1 billion takeover bid.
ABN Amro Morgans private client adviser Craig Walker said the market was awash with merger and acquisition talk, with BHP and Rio the main targets of the talk.
"This is the next target, I suppose," Mr Walker said. "Whether or not it happens or whether it's hype is the next big question."
The ASX 200 closed 30.8 points higher at a new closing record of 6335.7, surpassing the 6304.9 set last Friday.
The All Ordinaries was up 33.2 at 6329.4, also a new closing high.
BHP Billiton jumped 96c, or 3.14 per cent, to $31.56, and Rio Tinto strengthened $4.53, or 5.22 per cent, to $91.38.
Citigroup analysts said while Rio's strong cash flow could make it an attractive takeover target for private equity firms, BHP Billiton would be a more likely bidder given the likely synergies. A takeover would cost at least $122 billion.
Woodside Petroleum improved $1.15 to $42.90 but Santos sagged 30c to $12.28.
Macquarie Bank returned to the table with a revised takeover offer for gas and electricity provider Alinta in a bid to trump a rival $7.4 billion offer by a Babcock & Brown consortium.
Alinta was in a trading halt and last traded at $15.25.
Building products producer Rinker Group was up 34c at $19.23 as Mexican cement company Cemex extended its offer for Rinker by three weeks.
Drug maker Peptech dropped 11c to $1.81 and antibody therapeutics company Evogenix soared 16.5c to $1.01 as the two companies announced plans to merge.
The big banks were mixed. National Australia Bank gained 43c to $44.55, Westpac improved 4c to $27.32, the Commonwealth Bank slipped 3c to $54.27, and ANZ retreated 15c to $30.58.
Reluctant bride Bendigo Bank was down 32c to $15.83.
In media, News Corp rose 29c to $28.90 while its non-voters were 40c higher at $26.80.
News Corp has sold its 7.5 per cent stake in rival Fairfax Media for $380 million, after buying the interest last October for $360 million.
Fairfax was down 14c at $5.13 and was the top traded stock by volume, with 84.9 million shares worth $431.5 million changing hands.
Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd was 18c heavier at $20.73.
Telstra nudged up 1c to $4.87, the partly paids up 2c to $3.41, and Optus owner Singapore Telecom eased 3c to $2.75.
Retailer Coles Group lost 5c to $17.70 and Woolworths surrendered 48c to $27.77.
In the golds, Newcrest stepped forward 15c to $23.13, Newmont was unchanged at $5.11, and Lihir Gold rose 9c to finish at $3.10.