Australia Stocks: Centro Retail, Macquarie Office Trust, Orica

By Shani Raja

Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 8.90 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3,561.70 at 10:35 a.m. in Sydney.

Australian Agricultural Co. (AAC AU) rallied 9 cents, or 5.4 percent, to A$1.77, the highest since Nov. 17. The nation’s largest cattle rancher is in talks to sell four stations in Queensland state for A$220 million ($155 million) to reduce debt, the Australian Financial Review reported, citing the company’s chief executive officer.

Centro Retail Group (CER AU) tumbled 1 cent, or 15 percent, to 7 cents, the benchmark index’s biggest decline. Centro MCS Manager Ltd., the responsible entity for Centro Retail Trust and Centro Retail Group, said it won’t pay a distribution to ordinary shareholders for the six months to Dec. 31.

IOOF Holdings Ltd. (IFL AU), an Australian pension funds firm, surged 33 cents, or 11 percent, to A$3.36, the most since Dec. 10 and the index’s best performance. The company said it became a substantial holder in OneSteel Ltd., gaining a 5.2 percent voting stake.

Macquarie Office Trust (MOF AU), Australia’s largest publicly traded office property trust, rallied 2 cents, or 8.9 percent, the benchmark’s second-biggest gain. The company announced an institutional and retail entitlement offer aimed at raising A$408 million.

Orica Ltd. (ORI AU) fell 43 cents, or 2.6 percent, to A$15.96, the lowest since Dec. 9. The company’s rating was downgraded to “neutral” from “buy” by analyst Simon Mitchell at UBS. The 12-month price target is A$17.00 per share.

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