London's FTSE 100 edges lower as miners offset Shell gains

UK's FTSE 100 slipped on Monday, as miners struggled due to global moves to reduce coal use and a big drop in China's steel production, offsetting gains in Royal Dutch Shell following plans to ditch its dual-share structure. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was down 0.1% in early morning trade.

Shell added 2.2% after the energy giant said it will scrap its dual share system in favor of a single class of shares to boost shareholder payouts and simplify its structure. "This means you've got more simplification in terms of tax, dividends, share buybacks and it just makes it easier for the company to operate," said Andrew Jones, portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors.

"Shell has become more shareholder-friendly, more akin to most companies with a single share structure and the markets often take that quite well" However, miners Anglo American, Glencore, and BHP Group declined between 1.1% and 1.6%, after U.N. climate talks ended Saturday with a deal that for the first time targeted fossil fuels as the key driver of global warming.

Data showed crude steel output in China, the world's top producer of metal fell for the fifth straight month in October amid curbs. Inflationary pressures and supply chain problems have weighed on UK's economic recovery, with FTSE 100 gaining 13.9% this year and underperforming its peers in Europe and the United States.

The Bank of England is expected to be the first major central bank to raise interest rates after the pandemic, but whether that initial increase comes as soon as next month or it waits until early next year has divided economists polled by Reuters. Markets focus on key economic data this week for more clues on what will sway the BoE decision in December, with the UK reporting employment data on Tuesday, October CPI, and retail sales figures later in the week.

The domestically focussed mid-cap index advanced 0.4%, with online trading group CMC Markets among the top gainers, adding 9.5% after announcing a possible separation of its leveraged and non-leveraged divisions. Cineworld jumped 15.0% after reporting an improvement in October box office revenue as COVID-19 restrictions eased.

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