Australia Stocks: BHP, National Australia, Rio Tinto, Westfield

By Ian C. Sayson and Jesse Riseborough

Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 18.30 points, or 0.5 percent, to 3,992.70 as of 10:33 a.m. in Sydney, after a two-day, 7.6 percent slump. The broader All Ordinaries Index gained 45.60, or 1.2 percent, to 3,984.90, while the S&P/ASX 200 Index futures contract due in December added 0.3 percent to 4,044. The S&P/ASX 200 Index is heading for a 1.3 percent gain this week.

The following is a list of companies whose shares are among the most active in Australian trading. Stocks symbols are in parentheses after company names.

Mining stocks: BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP AU), the world's largest mining company, dropped for the third day, losing 10 cents, or 0.4 percent, to A$24.60. Rio Tinto Group (RIO AU), the world's third biggest, fell 21 cents, or 0.3 percent, to A$66.74, after plunging 15 percent yesterday.

A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange fell for a fourth day, dropping 1.1 percent, with nickel down 6.5 percent and copper declining 2.8 percent. Separately, South African regulators approved BHP's bid for Rio as long as it sells the interest in the Coega aluminum smelter project the company would acquire as part of the takeover within 12 months.

Oil companies: Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL AU), operator of Australia's A$25 billion ($16.78 billion) North West Shelf liquefied natural gas venture, jumped A$1.52, or 3.8 percent, to A$41.60, its first gain in three days, after oil rebounded from a 16-month low. Oil Search Ltd. (OSH AU), Papua New Guinea's biggest oil producer, climbed 12 cents, or 3.4 percent, to A$3.62.

Crude oil rose from a 16-month low as OPEC's president said members had reached a consensus on the need to trim production and Iran said the cut may be as much as 2 million barrels a day. Crude for December delivery rose $1.09, or 1.6 percent, to settle at $67.84 a barrel at 2:42 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB AU), the country's biggest bank by assets, gained 40 cents, or 1.6 percent, to A$25.90, extending this week's advance to 20 percent. The bank won a U.S. appeals court ruling upholding the dismissal of a so- called foreign-cubed lawsuit, which stemmed from $2.2 billion in writedowns from the acquisition of Florida-based mortgage company HomeSide Lending Inc.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ian C. Sayson in Manila at isayson@bloomberg.net; Jesse Riseborough in Melbourne at jriseborough@bloomberg.net