Australia Stocks: ANZ, AWB, BHP, Newcrest, St. Barbara, Rio

By Shani Raja

Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.5 percent to 3,530.80 at 11:40 a.m. in Sydney, the highest since Jan. 30. The broader All Ordinaries Index advanced 0.4 percent to 3,470.90, while the futures contract expiring in March gained 0.7 percent to 3,495.

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

Mining shares: A measure of six primary metals traded in London fell for a third day. Copper slipped 1.3 percent, zinc 1.5 percent, and nickel 1.1 percent.

BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP AU), the world’s largest mining company, declined 0.8 percent to A$32.20, the lowest since Feb. 5. Rio Tinto Group (RIO AU), the third biggest, dropped 3.7 percent to A$50.07, the most since Jan. 20. Rio also fell in London trading after Aluminum Corp. of China agreed to invest $19.5 billion in a move that may raise its shareholding.

Gold producers: Gold topped $950 an ounce, reaching the highest since July, on concern that the recession and banking crisis will deepen, boosting the appeal of the precious metal as a store of value.

Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM AU), Australia’s largest gold producer, rose 1.2 percent to A$34.41, the highest since May 22. St. Barbara Ltd. (SBM AU), aiming to become Australia’s third- largest gold producer, surged 11 percent to 39 cents, the Australian benchmark index’s second-best performance.

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ AU) climbed 5.8 percent to A$12.58, the most since Jan. 28, after saying it has no plan to raise capital. Australia’s fourth-biggest bank’s 2008 pro-forma tier 1 capital ratio was at 8.35 percent, the Melbourne-based bank said in a statement to the New Zealand stock exchange.

AWB Ltd. (AWB AU), the Australian wheat exporter that lost its monopoly last year, slipped 4.4 percent to A$1.31, a record low. AWB has plunged 36 percent since Feb. 10, after saying first-half profit may drop as much as 55 percent because of a drought.

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