Australia Stocks: BHP, Macquarie, Newcrest, OZ Minerals, Santos

By Shani Raja and Ian C. Sayson

Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 104.40 points, or 2.1 percent, to 4,799.40 as of 12:02 p.m. in Sydney. The S&P/ASX 200 Index futures contract due in September lost 1.7 percent to 4,840. The All Ordinaries Index decreased 1.2 percent to 4,897.30.

The following is a list of companies whose shares were actively traded in Australia. Stocks symbols are in parentheses after company names.

Financial stocks: Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQG AU), Australia's biggest securities company, dropped A$3.24, or 7.4 percent, to A$40.77, heading for its lowest close since Nov. 10, 2004 after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. moved closer to filing for bankruptcy in the U.S. National Australia Bank (NAB AU) sank 86 cents, or 3.6 percent, to A$23.10, the lowest since April 2000.

Barclays Plc and Bank of America Corp. abandoned talks to buy Lehman Brothers and Wall Street prepared for possible liquidation of the U.S. securities firm.


Mining shares: Minara Resources Ltd. (MRE AU), Australia's second-largest nickel producer, gained 8 cents, or 8.1 percent, to A$1.14, the second-best performer on the index. OZ Minerals Ltd. (OZL AU), the world's second-largest zinc mining company, had its biggest gain since Aug. 22, rising 9 cents, or 6.7 percent, to A$1.44.

A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange advanced 2.9 percent, with zinc climbing 5.1 percent and copper 2.8 percent.

Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM AU), Australia's biggest gold producer, advanced A$1.40. or 7.2 percent, to A$20.90, the most since June 27 and the benchmark's third-biggest gainer. Lihir Gold Ltd. (LGL AU), the second-largest producer of the metal on the Australian stock exchange, was the best performer, surging 17 cents, or 9.4 percent, to A$1.98, the most since January.

Fifteen of 28 traders, investors and analysts surveyed from Mumbai to Chicago on Sept. 11 and Sept. 12 advised buying gold, on speculation the dollar's rally against the euro will stall, boosting demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment.

Babcock & Brown Ltd. (BNB AU), the Australian infrastructure manager that's lost most of its market value this year, slumped 15 percent to A$1.62, a record low. Director Phil Green formally resigned from the board, the company said in a statement today.

Centro Properties Group (CNP AU), the shopping mall owner facing a Sept. 30 deadline to repay some of its debt, slumped 2 cents, or 19 percent, to a record low 9 cents, after a planned U.S. asset sale fell through.

Energy & Minerals Australia Ltd. (EMA AU) rallied 10 cents, or 22 percent, to 55 cents, the highest since July 24. Shares of Western Australian uranium explorers gained as the Liberal Party, which has indicated it will allow mining of the nuclear fuel in the state, won the right to govern.

Santos Ltd. (STO AU), Australia's third-biggest oil and gas producer, fell 83 cents, or 4.3 percent, to A$18.54, the most since Sept. 3. The company faces a blow-out in the clean-up bill from a mud flow in East Java that started in 2006 and affects 75,000 people, the Australian Financial Review said. Santos's share of the mitigation cost could be as high as A$830 million, nearly 10 times more than the company has disclosed to the market, the newspaper reported.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ian C. Sayson in Manila at isayson@bloomberg.netShani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net.