Australia Stocks: Australand, Lihir, Newcrest, Santos, Woodside

By Shani Raja

Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 7.80 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,123.80 at 10:15 a.m. in Sydney. The broader All Ordinaries Index lost 4 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,191, while the futures index expiring in September slipped 0.1 percent to 5,134.

Gold producers: Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM AU), Australia's biggest gold producer, slumped A$1.41, or 5.7 percent, to A$23.43, the lowest in a year and the benchmark's biggest loser. Lihir Gold Ltd. (LGL AU) fell 6 cents, or 2.7 percent, to A$2.19, the lowest since Aug. 12.

Gold fell the most in three weeks as a plunge in energy costs and a strengthening dollar curbed demand for the precious metal as a hedge against inflation. Gold futures for December delivery fell $24.70, or 3 percent, to $810.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil companies: Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL AU), Australia's second-largest oil and gas producer, slumped A$1.49, or 2.6 percent, to A$57.01, the lowest in more than a week. Santos Ltd. (STO AU) dropped 56 cents, or 2.9 percent, to A$18.84, the most since Aug. 19.

Crude oil fell to the lowest close in almost five months as energy companies prepared to resume output at platforms in the Gulf of Mexico shut by Hurricane Gustav. Crude oil for October delivery fell $5.75, or 5 percent, to settle at $109.71 a barrel at 2:48 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Australand Property Group (ALZ AU), the Australian unit of Singapore's CapitaLand Ltd., advanced 2 cents, or 2.5 percent, to 63 cents after the company said it completed its 1-for-1 entitlement offer, raising A$461 million.

Telstra Corp. (TLS AU), Australia's biggest phone company, rose 7 cents, or 1.6 percent, to A$4.42, the highest since Aug. 20. Telstra will boost growth from Internet ads by expanding directory listings for apartment rentals, auto sales and phone numbers in Asia, Chief Executive Officer Sol Trujillo said in an interview in New York.

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