Glencore shares soar on debt plans

Commodities giant Glencore soared on Monday as the company announced plans to reduce its net debt by $10 billion.

Shares in the company surged by 13 per cent on the news before settling up by around four per cent.

With oil and metal prices at six-year lows, Glencore posted a first-half loss of $676 million in August.

Among a raft of measures, the firm said a proposed equity issuance would raise $2.5 billion.

Glencore’s stock has dropped by around 50 per cent this year as it has been affected by falling commodity prices.

The news lifted the FTSE 100 in London, which advanced 0.4 per cent in morning trade to recoup some of the ground it lost on Friday when the index shed 2.4 per cent in a turbulent session.

Meanwhile, stocks were broadly higher across Europe on Monday despite another fall for the Shanghai Composite Index.