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FTSE 100 closes at one-month high

IMF sees UK economy set for smaller hit in 2023

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London’s FTSE 100 ended Tuesday’s session higher as miners and oil stocks boosted the commodity-heavy bourse, while shares of Cineworld hit an all time low as the world’s second-largest cinema chain operator filed for bankruptcy protection.

Cineworld Group plunged 37.8 per cent after the movie chain operator filed a plan of reorganisation with the US Bankruptcy Court that will effectively wipe out existing shareholdings.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed 0.6 per cent up to hit a one-month high, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 added 0.9 per cent by 15:43 GMT.

“Cineworld failed to find a buyer for its business in the US and the UK, forcing the cinema chain to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, after it struggled under the weight of billions of dollars of debt,” said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at interactive investor.

Industrial miners surged 4.1 per cent and the energy sector advanced 0.7 per cent tracking firm commodity prices.

However, a stronger pound weighed on shares of some internationally-focused firms. Pharmaceutical firms and companies like Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc and Unilever Plc fell as the pound climbed.

Glencore Plc rose 3.3 per cent, after the miner proposed introducing a cash component to its bid for Teck Resources and Reuters reported that CEO Gary Nagle plans to meet with some of Teck’s Canadian shareholders to lobby them for support of its proposed takeover of Teck.

The FTSE 100 rose 1.4 per cent last week, outperforming the S&P 500’s 0.1 per cent drop, buoyed by defensive stocks including pharmaceuticals and commodity-linked stocks, but concerns around a potential US recession weighed on sentiment.

Back home, the International Monetary Fund now expects Britain’s economy to suffer a smaller-than-expected 0.3 per cent contraction this year from a 0.6 per cent shrinkage estimated earlier.

Retailers reported a boost in spending from Mother’s Day purchases in March, during an otherwise downbeat sales period.

Devolver Digital Inc slumped 10.9 per cent to a record low after missing annual core earnings expectations.

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