Australia Stocks: BHP, Babcock, Equinox, Macquarie, Virgin Blue

By Shani Raja

Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 56.20 points, or 1.2 percent, to 4,931.40 at the close in Sydney. The broader All Ordinaries Index climbed 60.60 points, or 1.2 percent, to 5,010.20, while the futures index expiring in September advanced 1.2 percent to 4,900.

Mining shares: BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP AU), the world's largest mining company, gained A$1.20, or 3.1 percent, to A$40.15, the highest since July 11. Rio Tinto Group (RIO AU), the third largest, rose A$2.10, or 1.8 percent, to A$121, the highest since Aug. 1.

Equinox Minerals Ltd. (EQN AU), the developer of Africa's largest copper mine, soared 50 cents, or 14 percent, to A$4.18, the index's second-biggest gainer. Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM AU), Australia's biggest gold producer, advanced A$1.01, or 3.9 percent, to A$27.01, the highest since Aug. 4. Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. (CXC AU), a silver producer, jumped 26 cents, or 13 percent, to A$2.28, a record gain.

A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange rose 4.9 percent. Zinc advanced 7.4 percent, copper 4.5 percent and nickel 7.9 percent.

Meanwhile, gold jumped the most in almost two months and silver had its biggest gain since 2006 as rising energy costs and a decline in the value of the dollar boosted the appeal of precious metals as hedges against inflation.

Oil companies: Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL AU), Australia's second-largest oil and gas producer, advanced A$1.85, or 3.4 percent, to A$57, the highest since July 22. Santos Ltd. (STO AU) rose 72 cents, or 4 percent, to A$18.90, extending yesterday's 5.7 percent gain.

Crude oil for October delivery rose $5.62, or 4.9 percent, to settle at $121.18 a barrel yesterday in New York, and 0.2 percent to $121.37 at 3:49 p.m. Sydney time in Asian trading.

Australian Worldwide Exploration Ltd. (AWE AU), operator of the $269 million Tui oil project in New Zealand, climbed 19 cents, or 6.1 percent, to A$3.30, the most since Aug. 8. The company said full-year profit jumped more than sevenfold on returns from the venture.

Babcock & Brown Ltd. (BNB AU) surged 26 cents, or 12 percent, to A$2.48, the most since June 30. Babcock reversed some of yesterday's 35 percent decline after Standard & Poor's affirmed its ``BB+/B'' rating on its Babcock & Brown International subsidiary, saying the unit's outlook was stable.

Babcock & Brown Wind Partners (BBW AU) rose 10 cents, or 8.3 percent, to A$1.25, the most since Aug. 7. Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas SA, Spain's third-biggest builder, agreed to pay 190 million euros ($283 million) for the company's wind energy assets in the country.

Billabong International Ltd. (BBG AU), the world's largest surfwear maker by market value, rose 55 cents, or 5.1 percent, to A$11.30, the most in almost five months, after posting annual profit that beat analyst estimates.

Kagara Ltd. (KZL AU), the Australian mining company that supplies to Korea Zinc Co., jumped 39 cents, or 14 percent, to A$3.27, the benchmark's third-biggest gainer, after saying an initial resource estimate for the Admiral Bay deposit confirmed it was one ``of world significance.''

Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG AU), Australia's largest developer of toll roads, plunged 26 cents, or a record 10 percent, to A$2.23. The company's rating was cut to ``sell' at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., after yesterday reporting that net profit for the year to June 30 fell to A$767.3 million from A$1.7 billion.

Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group (MCG AU) tumbled 59 cents, or 18 percent, to A$2.72, a record loss, after announcing changes to its capital structure. The changes include the sale of its 28.7 percent stake in Global Tower Partners and a partial tender offer for exchangeable bonds.

OZ Minerals Ltd. (OZL AU), the world's second-largest zinc mining company, surged 19 cents, or 12 percent, to A$1.88, the most since January. The company may seek to buy uranium mines to diversify output after a slump in metal prices, Chief Executive Officer Andrew Michelmore said today.

Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd., the Australian airline being spun off from Toll Holdings Ltd., slumped for the third day this week. Its shares tumbled 11 cents, or 19 percent, to 48 cents, after posting a loss on Aug. 19, and Aug. 20 being downgraded to ``sell'' at UBS AG.

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