By Devik Jain
(Reuters) -London’s FTSE 100 edged higher on Monday after posting its second straight weekly drop, while Cineworld Group 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 and Royal Dutch Shell, industrials, and consumer staples stocks including Diageo 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…
