Australian Shares Flat; Fortescue Flags $750 Million Impairment Charge on Iron Bridge Project
Australian shares were flat on Friday, with a positive bias, as investors reacted to optimism around artificial intelligence after tech giants posted their earnings and forecast updates.The S&P/ASX 200 Index was little changed to close at 8,976.80.Brent crude oil futures fell around 2% to trade around $87 per barrel amid signs of continuing tanker traffic through the critical Strait of Hormuz.Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500, the Nasdaq Composite, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 1.7%, 2.8%, and 1.2%, respectively.On the domestic front, Australia's producer prices, excluding exports, increased 1.3% in the June quarter, following a 0.4% rise in the March quarter, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.Australia's total private sector credit recorded an 0.8% month-on-month increase and an 8.5% year-on-year rise in seasonally adjusted terms in June, according to Reserve Bank figures.In company news, Fortescue (ASX:FMG) expects to book a non-cash impairment charge of around $750 million before tax and about $525 million after tax on its Iron Bridge project in fiscal year 2026, following a review of asset values under accounting standards and internal policies.Mayne Pharma Group (ASX:MYX) said its fiscal year 2026 revenue came in at AU$383.7 million, down 6% year on year from AU$408.1 million. Its underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the fiscal year came in at AU$31.7 million, dropping 33% from the AU$47 million reported in the prior year.Lastly, Advanced Innergy Holdings (ASX:AIH) said that its fiscal year 2026 revenue is forecast to come in around 162 million pounds sterling, down 14% from its earlier guidance of 188 million pounds sterling, as risks to the guidance it earlier identified materialized with "the extended duration and recent escalation of the Middle East conflict." Its shares earlier reached an all-time low point, falling over 38%.
