Australia Stocks: Babcock Power, Santos, Virgin Blue Holdings

By Shani Raja

Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 25.60 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,892 at 10:25 a.m. in Sydney. The broader All Ordinaries Index advanced 28.80 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,959.20, while the futures index expiring in September lost 0.1 percent to 4,855.

Mining shares: BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP AU), the world's largest mining company, advanced A$1, or 2.7 percent to A$38. Rio Tinto Group (RIO AU), the third largest, gained A$3.40, or 3.1 percent, to A$114.73.

Minara Resources Ltd. (MRE AU), Australia's second-largest nickel producer, rose 2 cents, or 1.7 percent, to A$1.18, among the benchmark's 10 best performers.

A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange rose 3 percent. Zinc advanced 5.1 percent, copper 3 percent and nickel 7.5 percent.

Babcock & Brown Power (BBP AU) lost 1 cent, or 2.8 percent, to 19 cents, the most since Aug. 5, extending yesterday's 41 percent plunge. The company's rating was cut to ``sell'' from ``hold'' at Citigroup Inc.

Brambles Ltd. (BXB AU), the world's biggest supplier of the pallets used to move and store goods in factories, slumped 63 cents, or 7.4 percent, to A$7.89. The company said full-year profit rose 29 percent as it won new contracts and customers in Europe and North America.

Santos Ltd. (STO AU) jumped 38 cents, or 2.3 percent, to A$17.29, partly reversing yesterday's 5 percent decline. Crude oil for September delivery rose $1.66, or 1.5 percent, to settle at $114.53 a barrel at 2:46 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. (VBA AU), the Australian airline being spun off from Toll Holdings Ltd., tumbled 24 cents, or a record 29 percent, to 60 cents, extending yesterday's 27 percent decline. UBS AG cut Virgin Blue's rating to ``sell'' from ``neutral'' after the company yesterday posted its first half- year loss because of higher fuel prices.

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