Australia Stocks: Commonwealth, ING, Newcrest, Nexus, Valad

By Shani Raja

Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 67.20 points, or 1.5 percent, to 4,320.90 at the close in Sydney, the lowest in more than three years. The broader All Ordinaries Index lost 78.50 points, or 1.8 percent, to 4,291.30, while the futures index expiring in December declined 0.4 percent to 4,330.

Financial stocks: Commonwealth Bank of Australia plunged A$2.75, or 6.1 percent, to A$42.40, the most since July 25, after selling A$2 billion ($1.3 billion) of stock to raise funds for its acquisition of HBOS Plc's Australian units. National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB AU) dropped 62 cents, or 2.6 percent, to A$23.73, the lowest since Sept. 19.

U.S. stocks fell for a sixth day after U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said more banks might fail, and coordinated global interest-rate cuts didn't convince investors the global economy will avoid a recession.

Gold mining companies: Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM AU), Australia's largest gold producer, leapt A$3.50, or 15 percent, to A$26.70, the benchmark's second-best performer. Lihir Gold Ltd., (LGL AU) rallied 28 cents, or 12 percent, to A$2.64, the fourth-best performer. Gold explorers accounted for five of the benchmark's top 10 gainers.

Gold futures for December delivery jumped 2.8 percent to $906.50 in New York on speculation that moves by central banks to ease the global credit crunch won't revive financial markets, boosting demand for the precious metal as a haven.

Oil companies: Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL AU), operator of Australia's North West Shelf liquefied natural gas venture, fell A$2.28, or 5.2 percent, to A$41.92, the lowest since Jan. 22. Santos Ltd. (STO AU) dropped A$1.21, or 7.9 percent, to A$14.10, the lowest since March 27.


Crude oil for November delivery fell 1.2 percent to $88.95 a barrel at 2:54 p.m. in New York as the U.S. government reported a bigger-than-expected gain in crude and gasoline inventories and the global economic crisis curbed demand.

CFS Retail Property Trust (CFX AU) declined 21 cents, or a record 8.8 percent, to A$2.19. The Australian shopping-center owner completed a A$300 capital raising, the proceeds of which will be used to strengthen the company's balance sheet, the Australian newspaper reported, citing Colonial's head of listed property.

ING Industrial Fund (IIF AU), an Australian real estate investment trust, fell 17 cents, or 14 percent, to A$1.11, the lowest since 1996. The company said it's selling Richlands Distribution Center in Queensland for A$12.5 million.

Minara Resources Ltd. (MRE AU), the Australian nickel producer controlled by Glencore International AG, plunged 10 cents, or 9.9 percent, to 91 cents, the lowest in more than five years. The company said full-year profit may fall as much as 93 percent following a slump in the price of the metal.

Mt. Gibson Iron Ltd. (MGX AU) dived 28 cents, or 24 percent, to 88 cents, the most since 2002. Chinese steelmakers are reducing demand for iron ore and asking to postpone contracted deliveries because of tightening credit facilities, the Australian iron-ore producer said.

Sundance Resources Ltd. (SDL AU), seeking to build a $3.3 billion iron ore project in Cameroon, was the benchmark's second- biggest loser, tumbling 4 cents, or 25 percent, to 12 cents, the most in more than five years.

Nexus Energy Ltd. (NXS AU), developer of the proposed $1.2 billion Crux gas liquids project in Australia, plunged 14 cents, or 18 percent, to 62.5 cents, the lowest in more than two years. Nexus slumped for the second day after Mitsui & Co. scrapped a plan to buy a stake in the venture for $255 million.

Valad Property Group (VPG AU), an Australian real estate investment trust fell by a record 12.5 cents, or 50 percent, to a record low 12.5 cents, the index's worst performer. The company said it has exposure of A$31.1 million to three projects owned by Petrac, a customer of Valad Capital Services, to which receivers have been appointed.

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