BHP, Macquarie, Mirvac, Newcrest, Rio: Australian Stock Preview

The following is a list of companies whose shares may have unusual moves in Australia. The preview includes news announced after markets closed. All prices are from yesterday’s close unless otherwise stated.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index futures contract due in December gained 0.3 percent to 4,105 as of 6:59 a.m. in Sydney. The Bank of New York Australia ADR Index fell 3.1 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 Index sank 1.6 percent to 4,081.50.

Mining stocks: A measure of primary metals traded in London fell 3.1 percent yesterday. Copper futures for December delivery declined 3.8 percent on the Comex in New York.

BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) , the world’s No. 1 mining company, lost 1.7 percent to A$37.60. Its American depositary receipts fell 3.1 percent in New York trading.

Rio Tinto Group (RIO AU), the world’s second-largest mining company by sales, dropped 1.5 percent to A$70.20 in Sydney.

Oil stocks: Crude for October delivery declined 2.6 percent on the New York Mercantile Exchange yesterday. Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL) , Australia’s second- biggest oil and gas producer, slipped 2.5 percent to A$33.40. Santos Ltd. (STO) , Australia’s third-largest oil and gas producer, fell 1.8 percent to A$11.25.

Gold producers: Gold futures for December delivery declined 2 percent on the Comex in New York yesterday.

Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM) , Australia’s biggest gold producer, gained 0.2 percent to A$38.17. Newcrest sees copper output doubling over the next five years, according to notes of a conference presentation by Chief Executive Officer Greg Robinson. St. Barbara Ltd. (SBM AU) climbed 3.2 percent to A$2.27.

Coal of Africa Ltd. (CZA) : The miner of the commodity in South Africa posted a wider annual loss as asset impairment charges overwhelmed gains in production and sales. The stock rose 2.2 percent to 94 Australian cents.

Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQG) : The investment bank has cut 47 staff from its private wealth management unit, the Australian Financial Review reported, without saying where it got the information. The job losses mainly involved support staff in Sydney at its retail brokerage division, according to the paper. Macquarie’s shares lost 3.2 percent to A$21.79.

Mirvac Group (MGR) : The Australian property group was downgraded to “hold” from “buy” at Deutsche Bank AG. The stock fell 1.7 percent to A$1.15.

Moly Mines Ltd. (MOL) : The Australian company and China National Automation Control System Corp. signed a $608 million contract to extract 10 million tons of molybdenum and copper annually, according to a statement on the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission’s website. Moly Mines, which seeks to develop a molybdenum mine in Australia, advanced 4.1 percent to 50.5 Australian cents.

Tabcorp Holdings Ltd. (TAH) : Australia’s biggest racehorse gambling operator was raised to “hold” from “sell” at Deutsche Bank AG. Its shares declined 1.1 percent to A$2.61.

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

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net.