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MELBOURNE: Australian shares inched up 0.3 percent in early trade on Tuesday, testing recent highs above 4,300 after a solid finish on Wall Street, but mining stocks were likely to keep a lid on gains due to worries about near term demand for metals.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 10.9 points at 4,313.2 at 0023 GMT.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 3.6 points to 3,477.1.