Australia Stocks: Babcock, BHP, Leighton, News Corp., Woodside

By Shani Raja

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index slumped 175.40 points, or 4 percent, to 4,161.20 at 10:20 a.m. in Sydney, the most in two weeks. The broader All Ordinaries Index fell 168.70, or 3.9 percent, to 4,118.60, while the futures index expiring in December was down 4.2 percent to 4,182.

Mining stocks: BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP AU), the world's largest mining company, plunged A$2.32, or 7.3 percent, to A$29.28, the most since Oct. 23. Rio Tinto Group (RIO AU) tumbled A$8.29, or 9.6 percent, to A$78.31.

A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange dropped 3.5 percent. Copper lost 5.4 percent, nickel 4.7 percent, and zinc 4.8 percent.

Oil companies: Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL AU), Australia's second-biggest oil producer, dropped A$1.28, or 2.8 percent, to A$43.72, the most since the end of last month. Santos Ltd. (STO AU) slumped 74 cents, or 5 percent, to A$14.15, the most since Oct. 23.

Crude oil fell more than $5 a barrel after an Energy Department report showed an unexpected increase in gasoline inventories. Crude oil for December delivery fell $5.23, or 7.4 percent, to settle at $65.30 a barrel at 2:43 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the biggest drop since Oct. 10.

U.S.-Related Stocks: Westfield Group (WDC AU), the world's biggest shopping mall owner by market value, declined 62 cents, or 3.8 percent, to A$15.88, the most since Oct. 29. James Hardie Industries NV (JHX AU), the biggest seller of home siding in the U.S., fell 30 cents, or 5.8 percent, to A$4.92.

The U.S. stock market posted its biggest plunge following a presidential election as reports on jobs and service industries stoked concern the economy will worsen even as President-elect Barack Obama tries to stimulate growth. The S&P 500 tumbled 52.96 points, or 5.3 percent, to 952.79, erasing a 4.1 percent rally the previous day.

Atlas Iron Ltd. (AGO AU) tumbled 9 cents, or 9.7 percent, to 83 cents, the lowest in more than a week. Atlas was downgraded to ``sector perform'' from ``outperform'' by analyst Lee Bowers at RBC Capital Markets, with a price target of A$1.30 per share.

Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Group (BBI AU), owner of ports and energy transmission lines in Australia, Europe and the U.S., fell to a record low, plunging 2 cents, or 13 percent, to 17 cents. The company tumbled 26 percent yesterday after saying it scrapped plans to sell its stake in the Multinet Gas Network business due to ``inadequate'' offers.

Leighton Holdings Ltd. (LEI AU), Australia's largest engineering and construction company, dived A$1.34, or 4.7 percent, to A$27.31, the most since Oct. 29. Leighton said it expects to see ``short-term impacts'' from the credit crunch, while repeating a forecast that profit will rise 15 percent this fiscal year.

News Corp. (NWS AU) fell A$3, or 19 percent, to A$12.90, the most since 1990 and the index's biggest loser. The media company, controlled by Rupert Murdoch, said fiscal first-quarter profit fell 30 percent on slumping television advertising and film studio sales.

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