Aug. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Boral Ltd., the biggest seller of building materials in Australia, paint maker Wattyl Ltd. and Crane Group Ltd. were the biggest gainers on the benchmark index after a report showed building approvals unexpectedly rose in June.

The abolition of a tax on the sale of investment properties in New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, also helped push building-related stocks such as James Hardie Industries NV and CSR Ltd. higher.

``People have been really waiting for positive signs that the recovery is under way, and the building approval figures are confirmation,'' said Scott Marshall, an analyst at Shaw Stockbroking Ltd. in Sydney. ``The removal of the vendor tax is a positive move for the industry.''

Building approvals rose 0.9 percent in June from May, the third straight monthly gain, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney today. Yesterday, newly appointed New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma scrapped a 2.25 percent tax on the sale of investment properties that had been blamed for slowing housing demand in the nation's most-populous state.

The abolition of the tax is ``good news for the residential building market,'' Marcus Padley, a trader Tolhurst Noall Group Ltd. in Melbourne, wrote in his daily newsletter.

Shares of Sydney-based plumbing supplier Crane climbed 95 cents, or 11 percent, to A$9.61 after the company said it returned to profit in the year ended June 30.

Crane's results were ``a good indicator for the forthcoming results from the other building-related stocks,'' Padley said.

Boral rose 4 percent to A$7.11 and Wattyl gained 6 percent to A$2.50. James Hardie stock added 1.9 percent to A$9.04. CSR shares rose 3 cents, or 1.2 percent, to A$2.65.

To contact the reporter on this story: Miriam Steffens in Sydney at msteffens1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 3, 2005 00:43 EDT