Australia Stocks: BHP, Leighton, Macarthur, Rio, Woodside

By Shani Raja and Chan Tien Hin

Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 47 points, or 0.9 percent, to 5,058.20 at 10:19 a.m. in Sydney, headed for its highest since July 24. The broader All Ordinaries Index gained 42.80 points, or 0.8 percent, to 5,130.60, while the futures index expiring in September advanced 1.1 percent to 5,040.

Mining shares: BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP AU), the world's largest mining company, gained 58 cents, or 1.4 percent to A$41.47, set for its highest since July 2. Rio Tinto Group (RIO AU), the world's third-largest mining company, advanced A$1.97 cents, or 1.6 percent, to A$126.97. Minara Resources Ltd. (MRE AU), Australia's second-largest nickel producer, rallied 8 cents, or 5 percent, to A$1.57, headed for its highest since Aug. 8.

A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange climbed 1.4 percent. Zinc rose 3.4 percent, copper 0.9 percent and nickel 4.8 percent.

Oil companies: Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL AU), Australia's second-largest oil and gas producer, climbed A$1.68, or 2.9 percent, to A$60.10, headed for its highest level since July 15. Santos Ltd. (STO AU) jumped 56 cents, or 2.9 percent, to A$19.96, highest since July 2.

Oil, natural gas and gasoline rose on speculation Tropical Storm Gustav will become the most damaging hurricane since Katrina as it moves toward production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Crude oil for October delivery increased 1.6 percent to settle at $118.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Leighton Holdings Ltd. (LEI AU) dropped 60 cents, or 1.3 percent, to A$45.00, set for its lowest since Aug. 26. Al Habtoor Leighton Group, the Dubai-based contractor constructing the Paris Sorbonne University campus in Abu Dhabi, plans to sell as much as 40 percent of its shares in an initial public offering in May. The Al Habtoor Leighton Group was established in September 2007 after the merger of Al Habtoor Engineering with the Gulf operations of Leighton International.

Macarthur Coal Ltd. (MCC AU), the world's biggest exporter of pulverized coal, fell 26 cents, or 1.8 percent, to A$14.34, set for its biggest decline since Aug. 19, after the company said full-year profit rose 9.3 percent on higher prices and the sale of a stake in a mine. Profit was less than a July 10 estimate of A$80 million to A$90 million due to a late accounting adjustment on the sale of its 19.6 percent stake in the Monto Coal 2 mine, it said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net; Chan Tien Hin in Kuala Lumpur thchan@bloomberg.net