Industrials, oil stocks pull FTSE 100 higher; Cineworld shines

London’s FTSE 100 edged higher on Monday after posting its second straight weekly drop, while Cineworld Group (LON:CINE) gained on reporting a strong weekend opening following a months-long lockdown in the UK.

The blue-chip index rose 0.3% with oil majors BP (LON:BP) and Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa), industrials, and consumer staples stocks including Diageo (LON:DGE) providing the biggest boosts.

The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index advanced 0.1%. Cineworld rose 2.8% after the world’s second-largest cinema chain said its UK cinemas pulled in more people than expected, helped by Sony Pictures’ animated adventure comedy “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway”.

Asian shares were mixed as investors awaited key U.S. inflation readings for guidance on monetary policy this week, where a high reading could revive talk of an early tapering by the Federal Reserve. [MKTS/GLOB]

“Overall, the week’s data calendar doesn’t have a lot for financial markets to sink their teeth into. Next week, that will all change,” Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA, said in a note.

“That probably means we have another week of headless chicken financial markets ahead of us. Hang on for the intra-day volatility and sentiment swings.”

After rising 10.9% in the first four months of this year on recovery optimism, the FTSE 100 has traded in a tight range in the past few sessions as concerns grew that central banks might pare back their support early as economies reopen and inflation picks up.

Among other stocks that gained, Kainos Group rose 2.8% after the digital services company posted a 124% jump in its annual adjusted pretax profit.

Chilean miner Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) fell 1.2% after RBC cut its price target on the stock, while Mr Kipling owner Premier Foods climbed 3.7% after brokerages raised their price targets.