Updates to close

By Adwitiya Srivastava

Jan 17 (Reuters) - Banking stocks led the decline in Australian shares on Friday, while miner Rio Tinto RIO.AX fell on reports of failed merger negotiations with rival Glencore GLEN.L.

The S&P/ASX 200 .AXJO closed 0.2% lower at 8,310.4 points. The benchmark ended the week up 0.2%.

Shares of Rio Tinto fell 0.7%, logging their worst session in over a week, after reports of unsuccessful merger talks between the world's No. 2 miner and Glencore, one of the world's biggest miners of coal and base metals.

Financials .AXFJ led sectoral declines on Friday, dipping 1% to log their worst week in four. The 'big four' banks fell 1.2%-1.8%.

Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said the fall was likely due to profit-booking in the sector following recent gains.

The index rose about 2.6% on Thursday, but ended the week 0.6% lower.

Miners .AXMM gained 0.5% as iron ore prices jumped after better-than-expected GDP data from top consumer China. IRONORE/

The index logged its best week since Nov. 18.

China, which is one of Australia's key trading partners, said its fourth-quarter GDP grew 5.4% year-on-year, beating market estimates.

Gold stocks .AXGD rose 0.3% on higher bullion prices. GOL/

The index logged weekly gains of 5%, the most since late November.

Among individual stocks, Insignia Financial IFL.AX surged 6.5%, hitting its highest since October 2021, after it received a revised offer from U.S.-based CC Capital Partners to acquire the money manager for A$3.07 billion ($1.91 billion).

Lynas Rare Earths LYC.AX, the world's largest miner of rare earths outside China, fell as much as 6.6%, hitting its lowest since Jan. 2, after its quarterly sales missed estimates. It also provided a bleak outlook for the coming quarter due to sluggish demand in China.

The stock closed 0.9% lower on the day.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose nearly 1% to finish the session at 13,130.43 points. The index was up 1.8% for the week.

(Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

((Adwitiya.Srivastava@thomsonreuters.com))

For more information on DIARIES & DATA: U.S. earnings diary  RESF/US   Wall Street Week Ahead   .N/O Global Economy Week Ahead DATA/ ................................................................ For latest top breaking news across all markets          NEWS1