Australia Stocks Preview: Babcock, Minara, National Australia

By Shani Raja

Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies whose shares may rise or fall in Australia. This preview includes news announced after markets closed yesterday. Prices are from yesterday's close unless otherwise stated.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index futures contract due in September dropped 1.7 percent to 4,920 at 6:59 a.m. in Sydney. The S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 3.30 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,985.

Australian companies scheduled to report earnings today include: Oil Search Ltd. (OSH AU), OneSteel Ltd. (OST AU), Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM AU), Boral Ltd. (BLD AU) and JB Hi-Fi Ltd. (JBH AU).

Mining shares: BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP AU) posted a 30 percent gain in second-half profit after boosting production of crude oil and metals to benefit from rising prices driven by demand from China, according to figures released yesterday.

American depositary receipts of BHP, the world's largest mining company, gained 0.4 percent to the equivalent of A$37.73 a share in New York, 87 cents lower than the A$38.60 close in Sydney.

Nickel dropped for the third day, losing 3.5 percent on the London Metal Exchange. Minara Resources Ltd. (MRE AU), Australia's second-largest nickel producer, fell 10 cents, or 7.9 percent, to A$1.17.

Financial stocks: U.S. stocks declined the most in more than a week, led by banking and real estate shares, as growing speculation the government will bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rattled the mortgage market. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 19.60 points, or 1.5 percent, to 1,278.60 as 23 of 24 industry groups declined.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA AU), the nation's biggest mortgage provider, declined A$1.56, or 3.6 percent, to A$42.14.

Babcock & Brown Ltd. (BNB AU): Executive Chairman Jim Babcock has brought forward plans to step down and Chief Executive Officer Phil Green is considering his role amid a board overhaul, the Australian Financial Review reported, without saying where the information came from. Babcock climbed 6 cents, or 1.4 percent, to A$4.51.

National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB AU): The nation's biggest lender by assets was downgraded to ``underperform'' from ``neutral'' by analyst James Ellis at Credit Suisse Group. The price target is A$25.00 per share. National Australia slipped 20 cents, or 0.8 percent, to A$24.85.

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