Western Areas warns of impending write-off

Nickel miner Western Areas has flagged an anticipated impairment charge of between A$90-million and A$100-million for the full year to June.

The company told shareholders that the majority of the impairment charge related to historical exploration expenditure over the company’s tenement package, and a write-down of the undeveloped Diggers South project, which would require higher average nickel prices to deliver positive returns.

“While no company wants to recognize impairment charges to their assets, we believe at a time when the nickel price is trading at a cyclical four-year low, it is appropriate to review carrying values,” said MD Dan Lougher.

He noted that from a funding perspective, there was no impact on the convertible bonds or on the fully undrawn finance facility of A$125-million from ANZ Bank.

Read more: Australia shares set for cautious start, miners to gain on metal prices

New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index was up 0.8 points at 4,538.7 in early trade.

* The S&P 500 finished a volatile session nearly flat on Wednesday as the Fed gave no hint that a reduction in the pace of its bond-buying program is imminent.

* Copper rose more than 2 percent on Wednesday, supported by upbeat economic data from the United States which boosted market sentiment.

* Toll roads operator Transurban Group said its net profit for the year ending June 30 was A$174.5 million on a statutory basis, up 198 percent on the prior year.

* Australia introduced a 12.5 percent tax hike for tobacco on Thursday, a measure set to fill budget holes. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2257 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1685.73 -0.01% -0.230 USD/JPY 97.86 -0% 0.000 10-YR US TSY YLD 2.5876 -- 0.000 SPOT GOLD 1324.29 0.14% 1.800 US CRUDE 105.15 0.11% 0.120 DOW JONES 15499.54 -0.14% -21.05 ASIA ADRS 138.69 0.06% 0.09 -------------------------------------------------------------

* S&P 500 ends flat after Fed keeps easy money in play * U.S. crude oil higher driven by late technical rally * Gold down for day, ends July with big monthly gain * Copper up, strong US data helps ahead of Fed decision

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(Australia/New Zealand bureaux; +61 2 9373 1800/+64 4 471 4234)

(Reporting by Maggie Lu Yueyang; Editing by Joseph Radford)