Australia Stocks: Anvil, Austal, BHP, Incitec, Kagara, Woodside

By Shani Raja

Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 50.80 points, or 1.4 percent, to 3,748.10 at the close in Sydney, paring its weekly decline to 7.5 percent. The broader All Ordinaries Index advanced 53.60 points, or 1.5 percent, to 3,726, while the futures index expiring in December gained 0.5 percent to 3,772.

Mining stocks: BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP AU), the world's largest mining company, surged A$1.67, or 6.7 percent, to A$26.67, snapping three days of losses. Rio Tinto Group (RIO AU), the world's third-biggest mining company, rallied A$4.86, or 7 percent, to A$73.86, the most since Nov. 10.

Kagara Ltd. (KZL AU), an Australian zinc producer, rose 2 cents, or 4.2 percent, to 50 cents, the most since Nov. 5.

Zinc rose 4.9 percent, copper 1.4 percent and nickel 9.1 percent on the London Metal Exchange.

Platinum producers: Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP AU), a producer of the metal in South Africa and Zimbabwe, rallied 15 cents, or 5.1 percent, to A$3.10, the most since Nov. 10. Platinum Australia Ltd. (PLA AU), which owns mines in South Africa and Australia, surged 5 cents, or 8.1 percent, to 67 cents, the index's fifth-best performer.

Platinum advanced for a second day as a rebound in U.S. stocks and the dollar's decline helped improve investor confidence in the metal used in auto exhaust filters.

Anvil Mining Ltd. (AVM AU), the producer of copper in the Democratic Republic of Congo, dived 60 cents, or 39 percent, to a record-low 95 cents. Anvil fell by a record 43 percent in Canadian trading yesterday after posting a third-quarter loss and halting construction of the $380 million (C$469 million) Kinsevere metallurgical plant while it secures more funding.

Asciano Group (AIO AU), the Australian coal transporter that rejected a buyout offer from David Bonderman's TPG Capital, advanced 5 cents, or 3.3 percent, to A$1.55, the highest since Nov. 10. The shares soared for a third day after Asciano said it doesn't need to secure major financing for 18 months and has no plans to sell stock.

Austal Ltd. (ASB AU) leapt 36 cents, or 23 percent, to A$1.98, the most since 2003. The Perth, Australia-based shipbuilder, won a $185.4 million contract from the U.S. Navy to build a high-speed vessel that will transport troops and supplies, the Defense Department said.

Incitec Pivot Ltd. (IPL AU), Australia's largest fertilizer maker, sank 68 cents, or 19 percent, to A$3, a record decline and the benchmark's worst performer, after the company raised A$819 million ($545 million) selling new shares to institutions.

Santos Ltd. (STO AU) gained 55 cents, or 4.3 percent, to A$13.50, the most since Nov. 5. Crude oil rose more than $2 a barrel in New York on speculation a 10 percent drop in prices over the previous two days was larger than justified. Crude for December delivery rose 3.7 percent to $58.24 a barrel in New York.

U.S. stocks staged a late-day rally to climb the most in two weeks as investors snapped up the cheapest energy shares on record. The S&P 500 added 6.9 percent to 911.29, reversing a slide of 3.9 percent.

Tandou Ltd. (TAN AU), an Australian producer of cotton, grain and fruit, rose by a record, gaining 8 cents, or 100 percent, to 16 cents, after agreeing to sell water entitlements to the government for A$34 million ($22 million).

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