BHP, Telstra, Origin Energy, Woodside: Australian Stock Preview

Nov. 26 （Bloomberg） -- The following is a list of companies whose shares may have unusual moves in Australia. This 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 slipped 0.1 percent to 4,591 as of 11:59 p.m. in Sydney. The S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.2 percent to 4,593.40.

Mining shares: A measure of metals traded in London climbed 1.4 percent as Deutsche Bundesbank President Axel Weber said the euro area rescue fund has sufficient capital to calm financial markets.

BHP Billiton Ltd. （BHP AU）, the world’s largest mining company, rose 0.3 percent to A$43.09. Rio Tinto Group （RIO AU）, the world’s third-biggest miner, climbed 0.7 percent to A$83.05.

Oil producers: Crude oil for January delivery rose as much as 0.8 percent to $84.53 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd. （WPL AU）, Australia’s second- biggest oil and gas producer, slipped 0.3 percent to A$40.65. Santos Ltd. （STO AU） fell 0.4 percent to A$12.33.

Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. （CCL AU）: The Indonesian unit of Coca-Cola Amatil expects sales in the country to rise more than 10 percent next year, Peter Kelly, president director at the unit, said in Jakarta yesterday. The stock declined 0.8 percent to A$11.35.

Telstra Corp. （TLS AU）: Australia’s biggest phone company may use part of the A$11 billion payment it stands to receive under the government’s national broadband network plan to fund investments and acquisitions, Chief Executive Officer David Thodey said in an interview in Hong Kong yesterday. Some of the money may be used on share buybacks and dividends, he said.

Separately, CSL New World, Telstra’s Hong Kong unit, started a fourth-generation network in the city to meet demand for high-speed wireless services and boost revenue. Telstra shares gained 3.6 percent to A$2.88.

Origin Energy Ltd. （ORG AU）: China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., also known as Sinopec, may be the most likely buyer of liquefied natural gas from Origin Energy Ltd. and ConocoPhilips’s Australia Pacific Queensland project, the Australian Financial Review reported in its Street Talk column, without citing anyone. Origin shares were unchanged at A$15.60.

Riversdale Mining Ltd. （RIV AU）: The Australian company developing coal projects in Africa was rated “neutral” in new coverage by analysts at Merrill Lynch. The shares gained 1.1 percent to A$13.10.

--Editor: John McCluskey.