Vodafone Share News (VOD)

The FTSE 100 looks set to finish the week on a brighter note, rebounding after a five-day losing streak, as strong gains in the mining sector lifted London's benchmark higher in early trading on Friday morning."European markets opened confidently today as investors decided to take an optimistic view of equities despite a day thin on corporate and economic data," said Shavaz Dhalla, a Financial Trader from Spreadex."Much of the sentiment is being mirrored from positive gains in Asia overnight, although it is also possible that investors are looking for any excuse to buy into equities after a rough-and-tumble week in the stock markets."Ahead of today's session, the FTSE 100 had lost 2.7% of its value after five consecutive falls as disappointing US earnings and concerns over global growth weighed on sentiment.Miners provide a liftMining stocks were performing well after a volatile week for the sector. EVRAZ, ENRC, Fresnillo, Randgold, Rio Tinto and Vedanta Resources were all making decent gains.Anglo American was also a high riser after announcing that production at its larger operations of iron ore and copper increased in the first quarter, when compared with last year, despite the company scaling back spending.Meanwhile, telecoms firm Vodafone was also in demand as rumours continue to circulate surrounding a buy-out of its 45% stake in its US wireless joint venture with Verizon. According to reports this morning, a deal could happen this year as fears about tax obstacles ease.Investors at food wholesaler Booker breathed a sigh of relief on this morning after the Competition Commission finally gave the all-clear to its acquisition of cash-and-carry peer Makro, which was first completed in July 2012.High Street bookie William Hill surged early on despite reporting that growth had moderated during the first quarter. The firm did say however that the Grand National after the quarter-end was a "major success", beating its record win achieved on the race in 2009.Spectris, the electrical engineering firm, plummeted after reporting an 8.0% fall in first-quarter sales, reflecting a deferral of orders and shipment delays.Online information and events group Euromoney fell after announced that it has acquired a 75% stake in the Australian provider of investment forums, Centre for Investor Education.RPS also underwhelmed with a deal with shares down after the firm bought Knowledge Reservoir Group Inc., a reservoir engineering and geosciences consulting firm.FTSE 100 - RisersEvraz (EVR) 163.40p +4.48%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,133.00p +4.33%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 239.50p +4.22%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,119.00p +3.13%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,955.50p +2.69%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 679.60p +2.46%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,726.00p +2.45%Anglo American (AAL) 1,599.00p +2.37%Polymetal International (POLY) 730.50p +1.95%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,043.00p +1.86%FTSE 100 - FallersIMI (IMI) 1,145.00p -4.02%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,638.00p -1.21%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,076.00p -1.19%Reed Elsevier (REL) 751.50p -1.18%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,119.00p -1.15%ITV (ITV) 121.20p -1.06%SABMiller (SAB) 3,348.50p -1.05%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,853.00p -1.01%Centrica (CNA) 376.70p -0.95%BAE Systems (BA.) 375.60p -0.95%FTSE 250 - RisersKazakhmys (KAZ) 333.10p +7.42%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 38.10p +4.50%William Hill (WMH) 406.70p +4.12%Lonmin (LMI) 268.10p +3.91%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 167.10p +3.60%Petropavlovsk (POG) 138.80p +3.58%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 170.10p +3.15%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 400.80p +2.87%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 236.10p +2.65%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 176.50p +2.62%FTSE 250 - FallersSpectris (SXS) 1,970.00p -11.46%Renishaw (RSW) 1,553.00p -5.54%Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 2,450.00p -3.81%Bodycote (BOY) 467.50p -3.23%Laird (LRD) 203.00p -3.06%NMC Health (NMC) 316.50p -2.62%Morgan Advance Materials (MGAM) 246.00p -2.26%Senior (SNR) 236.30p -2.19%Perform Group (PER) 490.10p -2.18%COLT Group SA (COLT) 122.70p -1.76%BC