Australian Mining Stocks Advance, Led by BHP, Rio: Banks Drop
April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Australian mining stocks rose, led by BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group, as metals prices increased.
``It's metals price related,'' said Eric Betts, a strategist at Nomura Australia Ltd. in Sydney. ``There's confidence that the commodity story is intact and China's growth is still on track.''
St George Bank Ltd. led banks lower on concern last week's gains outstripped their earnings potential.
Lihir Gold Ltd. declined after it sold A$972 million ($813 million) shares at a discount.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index added 1.7 points to 6209.20 at the close in Sydney. About 10 stocks rose for every eight that fell.
New Zealand's NZX 50 Index increased 0.5 percent to 4201.64 at the close in Wellington.
