FTSE 100 closes at one-month high; Cineworld hits record low

LONDON: 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 (CINE.L) plunged 37.8% after the movie chain operator filed a plan of reorganisation with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court that will effectively wipe out existing shareholdings.

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

"Cineworld failed to find a buyer for its business in the U.S. 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 (.FTNMX551020) surged 4.1% and the energy sector (.FTNMX601010) advanced 0.7% tracking firm commodity prices.

However, a stronger pound weighed on shares of some internationally-focused firms. Pharmaceutical firms (.FTNMX201030) and companies like Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc (RKT.L) and Unilever Plc (ULVR.L) fell as the pound climbed.

Glencore Plc (GLEN.L) rose 3.3%, after the miner proposed introducing a cash component to its bid for Teck Resources (TECKb.TO) 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% last week, outperforming the S&P 500's 0.1% drop, buoyed by defensive stocks including pharmaceuticals and commodity-linked stocks, but concerns around a potential U.S. recession weighed on sentiment.

Back home, the International Monetary Fund now expects Britain's economy to suffer a smaller-than-expected 0.3% contraction this year from a 0.6% 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 (DEVO.L) slumped 10.9% to a record low after missing annual core earnings expectations.