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Australian, New Zealand Stocks: ANZ, AWE, BHP, Riversdale, Macquarie
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.1 percent to 4,479.70 at the close of trading in Sydney. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index declined 0.2 percent to 3,049.47 in Wellington.
The following were among the most active shares in the market today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Mining shares: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd resigned as Labor Party leader and was replaced by his former deputy Julia Gillard after a proposed tax on the mining industry caused his opinion poll ratings to plunge and lost him the support of his party. Gillard said she was willing to negotiate over a tax on mining profits.
Rio Tinto Group (RIO AU), the world’s third-biggest mining company, advanced 1.7 percent to A$71.73. Iluka Resources Ltd. (ILU AU) rose 2.4 percent to A$4.80, while Murchison Metals Ltd. (MMX AU) increased 1.4 percent to A$2.24.
BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP AU) gained 1.3 percent to A$39.65. The world’s largest mining company said it is encouraged by the appointment of Gillard and has asked its advertising agencies to suspend all advertisements it was running against the proposed mining tax.
Riversdale Mining Ltd. (RIV AU) soared 7.7 percent to A$11.35. The Australian coal developer said it signed an initial $800 million agreement with Wuhan Iron & Steel Co. to develop a coking coal project in Mozambique’s Tete province.
AWE Ltd. (AWE AU) dropped 4.8 percent to A$1.875. The oil and natural gas explorer’s Tui SW-2 well has been suspended as a future gas injection well, according to a statement submitted to the exchange. New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd. (NZO NZ), New Zealand’s biggest publicly traded explorer and a partner in the nation’s Tui oil field, retreated 2.3 percent to NZ$1.27 in Wellington.
Boral Ltd. (BLD AU) gained 2 percent to A$5.06. Australia’s largest seller of building materials was raised to “buy” from “neutral” at UBS AG by equity analyst David Leitch.
ConnectEast Group (CEU AU) fell 2.6 percent to 33 Australian cents. Goldman Sachs JBWere Pty analyst Jonathan Collett yesterday cut his rating on the Melbourne-based toll- road operator to “sell” from “hold.”
Elders Ltd. (ELD AU) tumbled for a second day, losing 12 percent to 37.5 Australian cents. The world’s largest wool broker plunged 15 percent yesterday when it was cut to “hold” from “buy” at Deutsche Bank AG by equity analyst Philip Pepe.
Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQG AU) dropped 4.7 percent to A$40.65. Australia’s biggest investment bank said increasingly uncertain markets are weighing on some parts of its business.
Qantas Airways Ltd. (QAN AU) gained 0.4 percent to A$2.36. Australia’s biggest airline will focus on cost cutting to make the carrier the nation’s most popular airline brand by the end of the year, the Australian Financial Review reported, citing new Chief Financial Officer Gareth Evans. Qantas is also reducing the number of cheap flights within Australia to encourage travelers to buy more expensive tickets, the newspaper said.
Sigma Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (SIP AU) tumbled 5.4 percent to 44 Australian cents. Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. of South Africa may alter or scrap its offer for Sigma amid a potential class action lawsuit against the Australian company, the Australian Financial Review reported. Aspen, which is conducting due diligence on the drugmaker, is “uneasy” about bearing the risk of the lawsuit before formalizing its A$707 million bid, the newspaper reported without saying where it got the information.
To contact the reporters on this story: Kana Nishizawa in Tokyo at knishizawa5@bloomberg.net; Sarah McDonald in Sydney at smcdonald23@bloomberg.net.
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