Australia Stocks: BHP, Mincor, Newcrest, Rio, Santos, Woodside

By Shani Raja

July 24 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.1 points to 5,105.40 at 10:20 a.m. in Sydney, the highest since the start of the month. The broader All Ordinaries Index declined 1.10 point to 5,160.50, while the futures index expiring in September lost 0.2 percent to 5,093.

Mining shares: BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP AU), the world's largest mining company, fell for a second day, slipping 81 cents, or 2.1 percent, to A$37.87. Rio Tinto Group (RIO AU), the world's third-largest mining company, dropped A$3.11, or 2.6 percent, to A$116.99, extending yesterday's 0.5 percent loss.

A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange dropped 0.5 percent. Nickel fell 2.7 percent and copper 0.6 percent.

Oil companies: Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL AU), Australia's second-largest oil and gas producer, declined A$2.57, or 4.6 percent, to A$53.38, the lowest since March 26. Santos Ltd. (STO AU) dropped 58 cents, or 3.3 percent, to A$17, the lowest since April 30.

Crude oil futures fell below $125 a barrel for the first time in seven weeks after a U.S. government report showed that fuel stockpiles increased as consumption tumbled to the lowest in more than a year. Crude oil for September delivery fell $3.98, or 3.1 percent, to settle at $124.44 a barrel at 2:59 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest close since June 4.

Mincor Resources NL (MCR AU) gained 7 cents, or 3.2 percent, to A$2.28, the highest since July 15. The company's rating was raised to ``buy'' from ``hold'' by analyst Paul-D Young at Deutsche Bank, with a price target of A$3.20 per share.

Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM AU), Australia's largest gold miner, lost A$1.77, or 5.7 percent, to A$29.35, the most since June 12. Newcrest said fourth-quarter bullion output fell 6.1 percent after a natural gas shortage in Western Australia state reduced output from its biggest mine. Production fell to 435,120 ounces in the three months ended June 30, from 463,170 ounces a year ago, Melbourne-based Newcrest said today in a statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net.