BHP, QBE, Rio, Suncorp, Wesfarmers: Australian Equity Preview

Jan. 5 （Bloomberg） -- The following is a list of companies whose shares may have unusual moves in Australia. The preview includes news announced after markets closed yesterday. All prices are from yesterday’s close unless otherwise stated.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index futures contract due in March rose 0.1 percent to 4,739 as of 7:59 a.m. in Sydney. The Bank of New York Australia ADR Index fell 2 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.1 percent to 4,742.50.

Mining shares: Copper futures for March delivery fell 1.8 percent to $4.378 a pound at 11:17 a.m. on the Comex in New York.

BHP Billiton Ltd. （BHP AU）, the world’s largest mining company, rose 0.4 percent to A$45.45. Its American depositary receipts slipped 1.7 percent in New York trading.

Rio Tinto Group （RIO AU）, the world’s third-biggest mining company, gained 0.4 percent to A$85.80 in Sydney. Rio Tinto said it completed the sale of 61 percent of Alcan Engineered Products, which develops aluminum products for markets including aerospace, energy and packaging.

Oil producers: Crude oil for February delivery fell 2.4 percent, to settle at $89.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the biggest decline since Nov. 16.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd. （WPL AU）, Australia’s second- largest oil and gas producer, advanced 0.6 percent to A$42.83.

Gold producers: Gold futures for February delivery fell 3.1 percent to settle at $1,378.80 an ounce at 1:55 p.m. on the Comex in New York, the biggest decline for a most-active contract since July 1.

Newcrest Mining Ltd. （NCM AU）, Australia’s largest gold producer, climbed 0.2 percent to A$40.51.

Insurance companies: The Queensland government will hold crisis talks today to plan a response to the Australian state’s worst floods in 50 years as rising waters threaten to strand tens of thousands of people.

QBE Insurance Group Ltd. （QBE AU）, Australia’s largest insurer by market value, lost 2.1 percent to A$17.77. Suncorp Group Ltd. （SUNDA AU）, based in Brisbane, fell 3 percent to A$8.35. Insurance Australia Group Ltd. （IAG AU） dropped 1.6 percent to A$3.82.

Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. （FMG AU）: Australia’s third- largest producer of iron ore said Neville Power will join the company as chief operating officer. Fortescue shares fell 1.4 percent to A$6.45.

Qantas Airways Ltd. （QAN AU）: Qantas, Australia’s biggest airline, will this week announce the resumption of its Airbus SAS A380 flights to Los Angeles from Jan. 17, the Australian Financial Review reported, without saying where it got the information. The stock dropped 2.4 percent to A$2.48.

Wesfarmers Ltd. （WES AU）: Flooding in Australia’s Queensland state has cost coal companies A$1 billion （$1 billion） in lost production, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. said, citing the Queensland Resources Council. About a dozen mines have been inundated by the rain and others are running at reduced capacity, the report said. Wesfarmer, which said full- year sales from its Curragh coal mine in Queensland may be as much as 11 percent less than a previous forecast, decreased 0.6 percent to A$31.82.