Toshiba Corp. shares gained 1.8 percent after the electronics conglomerate released its twice-delayed earnings for the last fiscal year, easing fears that the company might miss its deadline and have its stock placed on a watch list.

Shares in the company had nosedived over the last month, down by as much as 40pc to 122.75p each as concerns grew that Glencore would be unable to manage its $29.5bn (£19.3bn) debt pile should commodity prices continue to slide further.

The debt-reduction plan represents a significant about-face for Glencore after chief financial officer Steve Kalmin said less than three weeks ago that the company could “walk and chew gum”, meaning it could protect its all-important credit rating and pay its dividend at the same time. Nonetheless the message for Mr Glasenberg and Mr Kalmin was clear, even if they deny that the decision to cut the company’s borrowing levels was influenced by the ratings agency.

The fall in commodity prices has had a dramatic impact of Glencore’s value, causing it to fall 50% this year.

The wider mining sector enjoyed a rally on the back of the announcement, with Antofagasta rising 7% in early trading and Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto all up more than 2%. Glasenberg said it followed “recent stakeholder engagement” – suggesting the share sale and other measures had been called for by shareholders.

The company also plans to suspend operations at its Katanga and Mopani copper mines in Africa for 18 months, which Glencore said would remove approximately 400,000 metric tons of copper cathode from the market.

Chief executive Ivan Glasenberg said in an interview that he believed the company’s balance sheet is “in good shape”.

So it surprised investors last month when it said first-half profit had slumped and tough market conditions were hurting its trading business. This has severely reflected Glencore’s share price, which has tumbled 54 percent in 2015, making it the worst performer in the London FTSE 100.

Glencore’s balance sheet remains strong and the Group’s committed lines of credit are assured.

There are commitments from Glencore senior management, including CEO, CFO and several Board members, to take up the remaining 22 percent of the proposed equity issuance.

“With Fed “liftoff” coming soon and the USA recovery on track, we expect to see the 10-year yield close to 3 percent by the end of 2016″.

Glencore said in a statement Monday that the moves are “prudent” in the face of market volatility and speculation.

Wall Street saw Glencore’s move on Monday as positive for both shareholders and the price of copper.

But there were calls for Glencore to reveal more of the workings of its powerful trading arm.

“If this doesn’t do the trick, we’ll have a very hard environment in the world”, he said, since it would mean sharply lower commodity prices than today.