Australia shares' start seen subdued; miners may underpin

SYDNEY, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Australian shares are likely to have a subdued

start on Wednesday though a rise in metal prices and stabilisation in iron ore

could underpin mining stocks.

Stock index futures drifted down 0.1 percent to 5,523.0, a small

premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index.

The benchmark eased on Tuesday but remained near two-month peaks set at the

start of the week.

BHP Billiton (NYSE: BBL - news) , the world's largest mining company, said it had

scrapped the sale of its Nickel West unit after failing to find a buyer at the

right price and would continue to operate the nickel business.

Port and rail freight company Asciano Ltd reported capital

expenditures would range between $600 million and $700 million next year, before

normalising to $300 million to $400 million by 2016.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index was unchanged in early trade.

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(Reporting by Cecile Lefort, editing by G Crosse)