By Shani Raja
Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 95.10 points, or 2.5 percent, to 3,653 at the close in Sydney, the lowest since Sept. 28, 2004. The broader All Ordinaries Index lost 86.50 points, or 2.3 percent, to 3,639.50, while the futures index expiring in December declined 1.6 percent to 3,696.
Financial stocks: Babcock & Brown Ltd. (BNB AU), the Australian asset manager that's selling investments to repay debt, tumbled 7 cents, or 15 percent, to 41 cents, a record low.
Babcock said it may lose as much as $41 million on its venture with GPT Group after Wachovia Corp. said it may seize collateral on a $112 million loan.
Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQG AU), Australia's largest investment bank, plunged A$2.13, or 9.4 percent, to A$20.60, the lowest since 2002. National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB AU), the nation's largest lender by assets, slumped 86 cents, or 4.4 percent, to A$18.93, the lowest in 11 years.
Alumina Ltd. (AWC AU), a partner in the world's biggest producer of the material used to make aluminum, dropped 7 cents, or 5.2 percent, to A$1.29, the lowest since Sept. 1986. The company said it expects debt to remain near $697 million until the end of the year.
Atlas Iron Ltd. (AGO AU), an iron ore producer which started operations at its Pardoo mine last month, slumped 7.5 cents, or 14 percent, to 47.5 cents, the lowest in two years. The company issued more than 7 million new shares.
BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP AU), the world's largest mining company, slumped A$1.30, or 4.9 percent, to A$25.10, 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.
Babcock & Brown Wind Partners (BBW AU) rallied 2.5 cents, or 3.1 percent, to 82 cents, among the index's top-10 gainers. Babcock & Brown Ltd. 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.
Bendigo Mining Ltd. (BDG AU), an Australian gold producer, leapt 4.6 cents, or 47 percent, to 14.5 cents, the most in more than a decade. The company said trial mining at its Kangaroo Flat Mine in Victoria delivered ``exceptionally high-grade ore.''
CSR Ltd. (CSR AU), Australia's third-largest maker of building products, slumped 9 cents, or 4.8 percent, to A$1.80, the lowest since 2004. The company said it will seek to sell A$482 million in new shares to strengthen its capital position.
Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. (CCL AU) soared A$1.06, or 13 percent, to A$9.31, the most since August 2000 and the benchmark's best performer. Lion Nathan Ltd., Australia's second-largest brewer, offered to buy Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. for A$7.6 billion ($4.9 billion) in cash and stock to create the nation's biggest beverages group.
Energy Resources of Australia Ltd. (ERA AU), supplier of more than a 10th of the world's mined uranium, rallied A$1.10, or 7 percent, to A$16.90, the highest since Oct. 2. The company said drilling at its Ranger production site near Darwin found more of the metal, which may support an expansion.
James Hardie Industries NV (JHX AU), the biggest seller of home siding in the U.S., fell 35 cents, or 7.4 percent, to A$4.40, the lowest since Oct. 31. The company said second- quarter earnings dropped 26 percent and it won't pay a half-year dividend amid the worst housing slump since the Great Depression.
Mt. Gibson Iron Ltd. (MGX AU), an iron ore producer, plunged 1.5 cents, or 4.8 percent, to 29.5 cents, the lowest since January 2005. Contract iron ore prices, at a record after six years of gains, may decline 25 percent next year amid cuts in steel production and a slump in cash prices, RBC Capital Markets said.
OneSteel Ltd. (OST AU), the second largest Australian producer of the alloy, plunged 27 cents, or 8.3 percent, to A$2.97, the lowest since Oct. 28. The company said it may not meet its full-year iron ore sales target after the credit crunch reduced Chinese demand for the raw steelmaking ingredient.
To contact the reporter on this story: Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net.
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