Australia Stocks: Alumina, Babcock, BHP, Coca-Cola, Lend Lease

By Shani Raja

Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 68.50 points, or 1.8 percent, to 3,679.60 at 10:30 a.m. in Sydney, the lowest since Oct. 2004. The broader All Ordinaries Index lost 64.30 points, or 1.7 percent, to 3,661.70, while the futures index expiring in December declined 0.9 percent to 3,724.

Alumina Ltd. (AWC AU), partner in the world's biggest producer of the material used to make aluminum, slumped 9 cents, or 7 percent, to A$1.27, the lowest since Sept. 1986. The company said it expects debt to remain near $697 million until the end of the year.

Babcock & Brown Wind Partners (BBW AU) rallied 2 cents, or 3.1 percent, to 82 cents, among the index's top-10 gainers. Babcock & Brown Ltd. (BNB AU) and its wind affiliate sold most of the assets of their Portuguese wind-energy unit Enersis to investors led by Magnum Capital, the buyout fund started by former chief executive officers of Banco Santander SA and EDP- Energias de Portugal SA.

BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP AU), the world's largest mining company, slumped 99 cents, or 3.8 percent, to A$25.41, the most since Nov. 13. BHP plummeted 9.1 percent in New York trading and dropped in London after saying customers requested a deferral of iron ore shipments equal to 5 percent of its budget for 2008 as China's economy slows.

Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. (CCL AU) soared A$1.36, or 17 percent, to A$9.61, the most since 1991 and the benchmark's best performer. Lion Nathan Ltd., Australia's second-largest brewer, offered to buy Coca-Cola Amatil for A$7.6 billion ($4.9 billion) in cash and stock to create a company selling everything from beer to soda, juice and wine.

James Hardie Industries NV (JHX AU), the biggest seller of home siding in the U.S., fell 15 cents, or 3.2 percent, to A$4.60, the most in three days. The company said second-quarter earnings dropped 26 percent and it won't pay a half-year dividend amid the worst housing recession since the Great Depression.

Lend Lease Corp. (LLC AU) dropped for the third day, losing 8 cents, or 1.2 percent, to A$6.57, the lowest since 1993. Greg Clarke, chief executive officer of Lend Lease, said Australia's largest developer is finding it ``tougher than usual'' to sell assets. Lend Lease last week scrapped plans to sell its half of the King of Prussia shopping center, the third-largest mall in the U.S.

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