Australia Stocks: Babcock, GPT, Macquarie Group, National Bank

By Shani Raja

Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 44.20 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4,937.70 at 10:20 a.m. in Sydney. The broader All Ordinaries Index lost 39 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,969.20, while the futures index expiring in December declined 1.3 percent to 4,986.

Financial stocks: National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB AU), the nation's largest lender by assets, dropped 73 cents, or 2.9 percent, to A$24.87, the most in a week. Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQG AU), Australia's largest investment bank, fell A$1.20, or 3 percent, to A$38.80.

U.S. stocks fell for a third day on concern lawmakers will derail a White House plan to bail out banks even as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke warned of ``grave threats'' facing the American economy.

Babcock & Brown Ltd. (BNB AU) jumped 25 cents, or 15 percent, to A$1.95, the benchmark's best performer. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. this week won the backing of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, raising optimism investment banks will be able to raise capital from investors.

GPT Group (GPT AU) gained 6 cents, or 3.1 percent, to A$2.03, the highest since the Sept. 22. The Australian real estate investment trust may be on the verge of selling Sydney's Four Points Hotel to Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, the Australian newspaper reported, citing sources it did not name.

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