Australia Stocks: Alumina, BHP, Henderson, Rio, Sino, Westfield

By Shani Raja

Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 1.4 percent to 3,490.10 at 10:54 a.m. in Sydney. The broader All Ordinaries Index declined 1.1 percent to 3,440.50, while the futures contract expiring in March slipped 1.1 percent to 3,457.

The following companies are among the most active shares in the market today. Stock symbols are in parentheses.

Mining shares: Gold stocks rose after the precious metal gained 2.4 percent to $928.40 an ounce in New York, capping a third straight monthly gain, as investors sought an alternative to holding cash.

St. Barbara Ltd. (SBM AU), aiming to become Australia’s third-largest gold producer, rallied 4.8 percent to 33 cents, the most since Jan. 22. Sino Gold Mining Ltd. (SGX AU) rose 2.8 percent to A$5.10, the highest since Sept. 23

U.S.-linked stocks: U.S. stocks slid on Jan. 30, capping the worst January for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as more companies reported disappointing earnings. The S&P 500 slipped 2.3 percent to 825.88 to complete a fourth straight weekly drop, its longest losing streak since July.

James Hardie Industries NV (JHX AU), the biggest seller of home siding in the U.S., dropped 3.1 percent to A$3.80, the lowest since Dec. 12. Westfield Group (WDC AU), which owns shopping malls in the U.S., lost 6.1 percent to A$11.31, a record low.

Alumina Ltd. (AWC AU), partner in the world’s biggest producer of the material used to make aluminum, slipped 1.8 percent to A$1.12, the lowest since Dec. 23. Oleg Deripaska, the biggest shareholder of the world’s largest aluminum producer, said he expects “no more happy times” in the industry as a sluggish global economy saps demand.

BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP AU), the world’s largest mining company, declined 2.7 percent to A$29.69, the most since Jan. 23. A measure of six metals traded in London dropped for the second day, losing 1.9 percent. Copper slipped 2.3 percent, zinc 2.1 percent, and nickel 1.8 percent.

Separately, BHP Chairman Don Argus may announce his departure from the company as early as this week, the Independent on Sunday reported, without saying where it got the information.

Henderson Group Plc (HGG AU), a U.K. money manager, soared 17 percent to A$1.62, a record gain and the benchmark’s best performance. Henderson agreed to buy rival fund manager New Star Asset Management Group Plc in a deal valuing the company at 115 million pounds ($166 million). In a separate statement, Henderson said a placing is set to raise about 47 million pounds for the New Star acquisition.

Rio Tinto Group (RIO AU), the third biggest mining company, gained 2.5 percent to A$43.21, the highest since Jan. 9. Rio said it’s in talks with Aluminum Corp. of China to sell stakes in some of its units to its largest shareholder and raise cash to reduce debt.

Straits Asia Resources Ltd. (SRL AU) rallied 6.6 percent to A$1.13, the index’s second-biggest gainer. The company said it hasn’t been informed about any formal offer for a stake its parent was considering selling in the Singapore coal producer. Reuters reported the deal and cited unidentified people saying Noble Group Ltd. and PT Indika Energy Tbk were among companies interested in bidding.

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