Australia Stocks: Mincor, National Australia, Telecom, Tower

By Shani Raja

Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 61.60 points, or 1.2 percent, to 4,921.70 at 10:25 a.m. in Sydney, snapping two days of gains. The broader All Ordinaries Index declined 54.40, or 1.1 percent, to 4,975.60, while the futures index expiring in September lost 1.8 percent to 4,888.

Financial stocks: National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB AU), the nation's biggest by assets, lost 70 cents, or 2.7 percent, to A$25.07, the most since July 31. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA AU), the biggest mortgage lender, fell A$1.03, or 2.3 percent, to A$42.92, the most since July 29. Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC AU), seeking to become Australia's biggest mortgage lender by buying St. George Bank Ltd., slipped 35 cents, or 1.5 percent, to A$22.80.

AIG, the largest insurer, slumped by a record in the U.S. as subprime-related writedowns wiped out profit and spurred concern it will raise more capital. Citigroup Inc., the biggest U.S. bank by assets, slid after settling regulatory claims it improperly saddled customers with untradeable bonds. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 23.12 points, or 1.8 percent, to 1,266.07.

Separately, Westpac said provisions for bad debts are set to rise in the second half as the economy slows.

Mincor Resources NL (MCR AU), Australia's third-largest publicly traded nickel producer, was the index's second-biggest gainer, rising 7 cents, or 4.1 percent, to A$1.66. Mincor said yesterday it finished mining at its Wannaway Mine, three and a half years after it originally planned to. Separately, the price of nickel rose 5.9 percent in London.

Tower Australia Group Ltd. (TAL AU) added 15 cents, or 5.4 percent, to A$2.94, the most since April 23 and the benchmark's biggest gainer. Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co., which has more than 30 trillion yen ($274 billion) in assets, agreed to buy 30 percent of Tower, entering the Australian insurance market.

Telecom Corp. (TEL AU), New Zealand's biggest telephone company, plunged 25 cents, or 8.6 percent, to A$2.65, the most since 2002 and the biggest loser on the index. The company said fourth-quarter earnings fell 31 percent and forecast a second year of declining profit.

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