Energy, mining stocks drag FTSE 100; Cineworld slides

By Shivani Kumaresan and Amal S

(Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 ended lower on Thursday on a slide in energy and mining stocks, while concerns over renewed coronavirus lockdowns in Europe dented optimism for a swift economic recovery.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended 0.6% down, with oil heavyweights BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc falling 2.6% and 2.9% respectively, weighed by weaker crude prices. [O/R]

Miners including Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Glencore and BHP were among the biggest drags, falling between 1.3% and 3.9%.

"Investors seem increasingly concerned that the reopening of the global economy is going to experience more setbacks, meaning it is no longer a given that we'll see soaring commodities demand," said Russ Mould, director at investment platform AJ Bell.

"The market was high on vaccine-inspired euphoria in late 2020, pricing in a lot of future earnings growth before it happened. Now reality is sinking in that earnings forecasts could turn out to be too optimistic."

The FTSE 100 and the mid-cap FTSE 250 indexes have recovered more than 36% and 72%, respectively, from a coronavirus-driven crash last year as investors bet on a vaccine-led economic rebound. But a recent rise in coronavirus cases has dampened sentiment. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi)

Meanwhile, Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane said he remained confident that Britain's economy was poised for a quick bounce-back as the country races ahead with its coronavirus vaccinations and restrictions are lifted.

The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 fell 0.6%, weighed down by consumer discretionary stocks.

Cineworld fell 7.6% to the bottom of the mid-cap index, after saying it plans to ask shareholders to approve a raise in its debt ceiling next month to allow it to borrow more money to shore up its shattered finances, following a $3 billion loss in 2020.

Rio Tinto fell 1.3% after the largest minority shareholder in miner's Mongolian copper project Oyu Tolgoi has filed a class action lawsuit in New York, claiming the company concealed massive cost overruns and delays.

(Reporting by Shivani Kumaresan and Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Lisa Shumaker)