Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rose for the first day in three. Gold mining stocks, such as Newcrest Mining Ltd. and Lihir Gold Ltd., gained after prices rose to their highest since December.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index added 3.70, or 0.1 percent, to 4471.80 at the 4:05 p.m. close in Sydney. About 12 stocks advanced for every seven that fell. The benchmark is 0.6 percent from its record high, set Aug. 22.

``I expect the index to meander for a while,'' said Jason Teh, who helps manage about $3.9 billion at Investors Mutual Ltd. ``We just finished earnings season so the index will struggle to do much until we get more substantial earnings news.''

Stocks including OneSteel Ltd. and West Australian Newspapers Holdings Ltd. declined as they traded without the right to their latest dividends, weighing on the index.

New Zealand's NZX 50 Index fell 0.6 percent to 3367.12 at the 5 p.m. close in Wellington. Carter Holt Harvey Ltd., the biggest lumber maker in Australia and New Zealand, declined.

Newcrest Mining, Australia's biggest gold miner, rose 40 cents, or 2.2 percent, to A$18.25. Lihir Gold Ltd., which owns a mine in Papua New Guinea, added 4.5 cents, or 3.1 percent, to A$1.52.

Gold for immediate delivery rose as much as $2.66, or 0.6 percent, to $451.86, the highest intraday trading since December 7 last year.

Gold prices may rise to a 17-year high on increased demand from jewelry makers, 24 of 35 traders surveyed by Bloomberg said. A rally above $458.70 would be the highest price since June 1988.

Jewelers, who account for 68 percent of global demand in 2004, are stocking up for the wedding season in India, and the year-end holiday season in the U.S. and Europe, the producer- funded World Gold Council said in a report Sept. 7.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index's futures contract for September added 0.1 percent to 4475. The broader All Ordinaries Index rose 0.1 percent to 4437.50.

The following shares also rose or fell. The stock symbols are in brackets after the company names.

Australian stocks:

Media stocks: Billionaire Kerry Stokes's Seven Network Ltd. (SEV AU) lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NWS AU) and Kerry Packer's Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd. (PBL AU) began court hearings today, embroiling Australia's media moguls in a A$1.1 billion ($840 million) battle.

Stokes, 64, alleges News, Publishing & Broadcasting, Telstra Corp. and 19 others colluded to win Australian football rights for Foxtel Management Pty, Australia's biggest pay-TV network, forcing the closure of Seven's C7 sports channel in 2002.

Seven climbed 10 cents, or 1.2 percent, to A$8.45. News Corp. fell 3 cents, or 0.1 percent, to A$22.38. Publishing & Broadcasting lost 10 cents, or 0.6 percent, to A$16.64.

Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Group (BBI AU) gained 4 cents, or 2.3 percent, to A$1.79. It's studying a plan to expand its U.K. natural gas distribution business into electricity, the Australian Financial Review said, citing Chief Executive Steve Boulton.

Biota Holdings Ltd. (BTA AU), an Australian maker of influenza drugs, surged 11.5 cents, or 16 percent, to 85.5 cents. The company cited unnamed media reports as saying the Dutch government was stockpiling anti-viral drugs, including Biota's Relenza flu drug, to prepare for the possibility of a flu epidemic. The company said it has not received confirmation of such an order.

Challenger Financial Services Group Ltd. (CGF AU) lost 9 cents, or 2.3 percent, to A$3.79 after the shares were reduced to ``underperform'' at Credit Suisse First Boston after a 5 percent rally since Sept. 1, when the company's infrastructure fund said it bought Inexus, a U.K.-based gas transporter.

Quiktrac Networks Ltd. (QTK AU), a security technology company, soared 13 cents, or 67 percent, to 33 cents. Quicktrac said it won a contract in Beijing to provide security monitoring systems leading up to the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The contract will add A$380 million ($294 million) in sales over the next five years, the company said in a statement.

Resource Pacific Holdings Ltd. (RSP AU), a coal producer, surged 7 cents, or 5.1 percent, to A$1.33. Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd., India's largest coke producer, has bought 5 percent of Resource Pacific for A$8.1 million to secure coal supplies to feed its coke ovens.

Telstra Corp. (TLS AU), Australia's biggest phone company, dropped 5 cents, or 1.2 percent, to A$4.30. Australian Nationals party Senator Barnaby Joyce told Channel Nine's Business Sunday program he wants certainty that at least A$2 billion will be invested to improve communication services in rural regions of the country before he decides whether to support the government's sale of its 51.8 percent stake in Telstra.

New Zealand:

Carter Holt Harvey Ltd. (CAH NZ), the biggest lumber maker in Australia and New Zealand, fell 3 cents, or 1.2 percent, to NZ$2.50. The company said full-year earnings may miss its July forecast by as much as 12 percent because of weaker prices for wood pulp and lumber.

New Zealand Exchange Ltd. (NZX NZ), which manages the country's stock exchange, fell 20 cents, or 2.7 percent, to NZ$7.30. The exchange is being sued by Bank of New Zealand Ltd. for NZ$4.8 million ($3.4 million) the bank paid to clients of collapsed company Access Brokerage Ltd. New Zealand Exchange denies it has any liability for the funds. Access's accountant Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is also being sued.

Telecom Corp. (TEL NZ), the nation's biggest telephone company, fell 9 cents, or 1.5 percent, to NZ$5.97. Communications Minister David Cunliffe said the Labour government, should it be re-elected this weekend, may strengthen regulations to bolster the wholesale market for services such as high-speed Internet.

To contact the reporter for this story: Stuart Kelly in Sydney skelly22@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 12, 2005 02:27 EDT