Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index had its longest winning streak in three months. Telstra Corp. led companies that rely on domestic earnings higher as oil dipped below $50, sparking optimism consumer spending won't slow.

``The $50 a barrel mark has psychological implications for investors,'' said George Raftopulos, who helps manage the equivalent of $910 million at Constellation Capital Management in Sydney. ``It (oil) is a big input cost for many companies and if this is the beginning of a sustained pullback, then there are hopes that consumers may continue to spend.''

Oil producers such as Woodside Petroleum Ltd. and Santos Ltd. fell on concern lower fuel prices will dent earnings.

The S&P/ASX 200 added 7.40, or 0.2 percent, to 3798.60 at the 4:05 p.m. close in Sydney. About nine stocks rose for every eight that fell. The index's six-day gain was its longest winning streak since the seven days ended Aug. 3.

Telstra Corp., the nation's biggest phone company, rose 2 cents, or 0.4 percent, to A$4.70. Wesfarmers Ltd., which owns the Bunnings chain of hardware stores, gained 65 cents, or 1.9 percent, to A$34.80.

Woodside, Australia's second-biggest oil producer, dropped 35 cents, or 1.8 percent, to A$19.49. Santos, the nation's third- biggest, fell 17 cents, or 2.1 percent, to A$8.10.

Crude oil futures fell 0.5 percent to $49.86 a barrel as of 4:13 p.m. Sydney time. In New York overnight, the futures contract for December dropped 3.2 percent to below $50 a barrel for the first time since Oct. 5.

New Zealand's NZSX 50 Index gained 0.8 percent to 2853.43 at the 5 p.m. close in Wellington.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index's futures contract for December added 0.2 percent to 3804. The All Ordinaries Index rose 0.2 percent to 3805.60.

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

Australian stocks:

Indcor Ltd. (ICO AU), an Australian developer of ethanol projects, surged 5 cents, or 13 percent, to 43 cents. The company said Oct. 28 its U.S. unit ABUS LLC will acquire the assets of Rosholt, Dakota-based Tri-State Ethanol Co. ABUS for $28 million. Tri-State Ethanol owns a 20 million gallons-a-year ethanol plant that hasn't operated since a fire in December 2002.

Healthscope Ltd. (HSP AU), a hospital company that has made a takeover bid for Gribbles Group Ltd. (GGL AU), was halted from trading pending a statement. Healthscope offered A$271 million ($202 million), or 60 cents a share, for the nation's third- biggest pathology business. Healthscope may increase its offer for Gribbles by 3 cents to 63 cents a share, the Sydney Morning Herald reported, citing people it didn't identify.

Healthscope gained 4 cents, or 1.1 percent, to A$3.69 yesterday before it was halted. Gribbles added 1 cent, or 1.7 percent, to 59 cents yesterday before it was halted.

Miller's Retail Ltd. (MRL AU) added 3 cents, or 2.4 percent, to A$1.27. Credit Suisse First Boston raised the discount apparel retailer to ``outperform'' from ``neutral.'' As of yesterday's close, Miller's shares had fallen 5.3 percent since Sept. 27, compared with a gain of 4.7 percent for the S&P/ASX 200 Index.

Transfield Services Ltd. (TSE AU), an engineering services company, gained 9 cents, or 1.4 percent, to A$6.35. The company said its joint venture with Worley Group Ltd. (WOR AU) won a five- year, A$110 million maintenance contract for RasGas Co.'s liquefied natural gas facilities in Qatar.

New Zealand:

Air New Zealand Ltd. (AIR NZ), the nation's largest airline, fell 1 cent, or 0.7 percent, to NZ$1.53. The airline filled 72.7 percent of its available seats with paying passengers in September, down from 73.1 percent a year earlier, it said.

Infratil Ltd. (IFT NZ), a New Zealand investment company, rose 6 cents, or 1.9 percent, to NZ$3.20. Infratil said first- half profit more than doubled to NZ$29.6 million ($12.5 million) as it earned more from its investment in TrustPower Ltd. (TPW NZ) and from its airports.

Pyne Gould Corp. (PGC NZ) rose 3 cents, or 1 percent, to NZ$3.15. The rural and financial services company has gained 3.6 percent in two days after saying yesterday it expects full-year operating profit will increase, buoyed by profit at its Marac finance unit. First-quarter earnings at Marac, which contributes 65 percent of group profit, were ahead of budget amid a 20 percent rise in commercial lending from a year earlier, the company said in a presentation to analysts.

Sky City Entertainment Group Ltd. (SKC NZ), New Zealand's largest casino owner, added 8 cents, or 1.8 percent, to NZ$4.60. The stock has gained 2 percent since Chief Executive Officer Evan Davies said Oct. 29 that a smoking ban won't hurt earnings as much as analysts have predicted and he expects 2005 profit of between NZ$116 million to NZ$119 million, exceeding some forecasts.

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

Last Updated: November 2, 2004 00:56 EST