Australian, N.Z. Stocks: BHP, CFS Retail, Newcrest, Whitehaven

Dec. 24 （Bloomberg） -- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.2 percent to 4,791.10 as of 10:37 a.m. in Sydney. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index was little changed at 3,334.59 in Wellington.

The following were among the most active shares in the market today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.

Mining shares: A measure of metals traded in London slipped 0.8 percent yesterday.

BHP Billiton Ltd. （BHP AU）, the world’s largest mining company, fell 0.6 percent to A$46.18. Rio Tinto Group （RIO AU）, the world’s third-biggest miner, declined 0.6 percent to A$86.64.

Tata Steel Ltd. said it will evaluate Rio Tinto’s bid to take over Riversdale Mining Ltd. （RIV AU） “in the context of other alternatives” available. Tata is Riversdale’s largest shareholder. Riversdale shares gained 0.3 percent to A$16.62.

Gold producers: Gold futures for February delivery fell 0.5 percent to settle at $1,380.50 at 12:39 p.m. on the Comex in New York, the biggest drop since Dec. 16.

Newcrest Mining Ltd. （NCM AU）, Australia’s largest gold producer, lost 1.1 percent to A$39.85.

CFS Retail Property Trust （CFX AU） gained 0.6 percent to A$1.78. The real-estate trust was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” by analysts at Goldman Sachs & Partners Australia Pty, according to Bloomberg data.

Whitehaven Coal Ltd. （WHC AU） slumped 3.3 percent to A$6.77. The producer said wet weather has meant its first-half saleable coal will fall short of budget and the need to buy coal to meet fixed sales agreements will have a negative impact on earnings, according to a regulatory filing.