Australia Stocks: BHP, Minara, Equinox, Macquarie, Woodside

By Shani Raja

Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 76.80 points, or 2 percent, to 3,702.90 at 11:10 a.m. in Sydney, the most since Dec. 12. The broader All Ordinaries Index declined 75.10 points, or 2 percent, to 3,653.10, while the futures contract expiring in March slipped 2.3 percent to 3,688.

Mining shares: BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP AU), the world’s largest mining company, plunged A$1.60, or 4.9 percent, to A$31, the most since Dec. 5. Rio Tinto Group (RIO AU), the third- biggest, slumped A$1.79, or 3.8 percent, to A$45.14. Minara Resources Ltd. (MRE AU), an Australian nickel producer controlled by Glencore International AG, lost 3 cents, or 7.1 percent, to 39.5 cents.

Copper futures for March delivery fell 4.5 percent to $1.5115 a pound in New York after a report showed U.S. companies eliminated more jobs than forecast in December, renewing concern slower economic growth will stifle metal demand.

A measure of six metals traded in London dropped 2.1 percent. Copper fell 1.5 percent, zinc 2.3 percent and nickel 7.2 percent.

Coal producers: Macarthur Coal Ltd. (MCC AU), the world’s biggest exporter of pulverized coal, dropped 11 cents, or 3.5 percent, to A$3.07, the lowest since Dec. 31. Gloucester Coal Ltd. (GCL AU) fell 9 cents, or 2.1 percent, to A$4.11.

Peabody Energy Corp., the largest U.S. coal producer, reduced its forecast for 2009 output from mines in Australia as the global economic slump reduces demand. Australian shipments will decline to between 22 million and 24 million tons from about 24 million last year, it said.

Oil companies: Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL AU) plunged A$1.84, or 4.8 percent, to A$36.93, the most since Dec. 18. Santos Ltd. (STO AU) dropped 36 cents, or 2.4 percent, to A$14.85.

Oil futures tumbled 12 percent to $42.74 a barrel at the 2:30 p.m. close of floor trading in New York, the most in more than seven years, after a U.S. government report showed a bigger- than-expected increase in supplies of crude oil, gasoline and distillate fuel as demand dropped.

Equinox Minerals Ltd. (EQN AU), the company developing the Lumwana mine in Zambia, dived 45 cents, or 19 percent, to A$1.94, the most since Oct. 24. Equinox said it’s deferring the construction of a uranium treatment plant because of the drop in the price of the metal and difficulty raising financing.

Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQG AU), Australia’s largest investment bank, plunged A$1.97, or 5.8 percent, to A$31.78, the most since Dec. 2.

The company said “exceptionally challenging” market conditions in the December quarter will dent profitability as it cuts assets to weather the global credit crunch. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank Ltd. will buy A$1.5 billion of margin loans from Macquarie for A$52 million, the banks said in a joint statement.

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