By Shani Raja
Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 55.70 points, or 1.5 percent, to 3,742.70 at the close in Sydney, the highest since Nov. 14. The following shares were among the most active stocks in Sydney trading.
Oil companies: Santos Ltd. (STO AU) advanced 39 cents, or 2.6 percent, to A$15.14, the highest since Oct. 8. Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL AU) rose 84 cents, or 2.2 percent, to A$38.61, the highest since Nov. 12.
Crude oil rose yesterday to the highest settlement since Dec. 1 on speculation conflict in the Gaza Strip may spread and disrupt oil supplies from other parts of the Middle East. The contract was little changed today.
Gold producers: Lihir Gold Ltd. (LGL AU), the second-largest gold mining company on the Australian Stock Exchange, plunged 26 cents, or 9 percent, to A$2.64, the lowest since Dec. 16. Sino Gold Mining Ltd. (SGX AU) fell 4 cents, or 0.8 percent, to A$4.72.
Gold declined for a fourth day as the dollar rebounded, reducing the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment. Gold for immediate delivery fell 0.5 percent to $855 an ounce at 10:48 a.m. in Tokyo after losing 1.8 percent yesterday.
Nickel producers: Minara Resources Ltd. (MRE AU), an Australian nickel producer controlled by Glencore International AG, rose 4 cents, or 12 percent, to 37.5 cents, the most since Dec. 1. Mincor Resources NL (MCR AU), Australia’s fourth-largest nickel producer, rallied 6 cents, or 6.9 percent, to 93 cents, the highest since Oct. 21.
Nickel has gained 34 percent on the London Metal Exchange since Dec. 26.
Babcock & Brown Ltd. (BNB AU), the Australian asset manager whose stock tumbled 99 percent last year, jumped 13.5 cents, or 54 percent, to 38.5 cents, the benchmark’s best performer, amid speculation the company won approval from bankers for a plan to sell assets as it struggles to avert collapse.
“We have seen bankers show a little more reprieve, so maybe people are willing to take a punt that bankers are realizing that they can’t just shut everyone’s doors,” a said Tim Morris, an analyst at Wise-Owl.com.
Leighton Holdings Ltd. (LEI AU), Australia’s largest engineering and construction company, plunged A$3.33, or 12 percent, to A$25, the index’s second-biggest loser. The company said it saw a 60 percent plunge in first-half net income after the global financial crisis forced it to write down the value of its listed investments.
Valad Property Group (VPG AU), an Australian real estate investment trust rose 2.2 cents, or a record 31 percent, to 9.4 cents. Valad announced the early settlement of a sales transaction that will raise A$65 million, and said it will seek to “realize other assets.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net
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